Serial killer Sebastian Alexander Shaw spared death row
The jury deliberated for six hours on Monday and Tuesday on the punishment for Sebastian Shaw, 37. He was convicted of aggravated murder in the death of Jay Rickbeil, 40, who had cerebal palsy and used a wheelchair.
Prosecutors said Shaw attacked Rickbeil after getting fired from a job at Paragon Cable. He took his rage out on Rickbeil - slashing the man's throat while he lay in bed, prosecutors said.
Shaw was arrested after police waiting outside a Portland supermarket retrieved a cigarette he discarded to get a DNA sample. The prosecution said the sample matched evidence from the murder of Rickbeil.
The jury voted 9-3 in favor of death. But the death penalty requires an unanimous vote, so Shaw will receive a sentence of life in prison without possibility of release.
Shaw is serving two life sentences for the 1992 murders of a Portland man and woman. Their throats were slashed and the woman was raped. He is also in prison for the 1995 rape of another Portland woman. While in prison, Shaw told authorities that he killed 10 to 12 other people.
The prosecution offered him a deal to get another life sentence instead of facing a death penalty trial if Shaw provided details on all the other killings. Shaw wanted a promise that he would not face the death penalty in future prosecutions. Prosecutors said no.
The mother of one of Shaw's victims said she if furious with the jury's decision this week because there is no longer any incentive for Shaw to reveal what else he has done.
"He got away with it. It's all an act," said Vickie Johnson of Gresham, whose son was murdered. "He's a maniac. It's like the detective in the case once told us - it's like talking to a reptile. The system has failed us."
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)