DEATH SENTENCE AGAIN FOR KILLER SAMPSON
For the second time, a jury has said admitted serial killer Gary Lee Sampson should die for his crimes.
After 16 hours of deliberation in the Moakley Federal Courthouse, seven men and five woman sentenced the Abington native to death for the 2001 carjacking murder of Jonathan Rizzo, 19, a George Washington University sophomore. The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the punishment for killing Boston Gas retiree Philip McCloskey, 69, meaning Sampson automatically receives a life sentence for the killing.
“Gary Lee Sampson took the life of three human beings well before their time,” U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said. “He used manipulation and deceit to lure, torture and kill them. He blamed everyone but himself for his life of crime.”
Sampson was also convicted of killing Robert “Eli” Whitney, but because he was not carjacked, that particular killing is not punishable by death.
Sampson showed no emotion as the jury delivered the verdict of death. Rizzo’s mother, Mary, wept as the verdict was read.
The families of the victims thanked prosecutors for continuing the 15-yearlong fight. Sampson was originally sentenced to death in 2003, but that verdict was overturned due to juror misconduct.
“This was about never giving up” said Mike Rizzo, Jonathan’s father. “Fifteen years is a long time, but somehow we don’t know how to quit.”
Ortiz said she was “disappointed” in the split verdict. Scott McCloskey, Philip’s son, said it was “difficult” to hear his father’s murder would not be punishable by death.
“We still got the verdict we wanted, either way,” the grieving son said. “When it’s all said and done, he is getting the death penalty. That’s what we fought the fight for, and as far as I’m concerned, we won.”
A mysterious letter slipped into the signed jury form by an unknown juror added a wrinkle to the final moments of the case. At the urging of the defense, Judge Leo T. Sorokin ordered the letter sealed and preserved for the appellate record. Its contents were not revealed.
Polled one-by-one by the court clerk, all members of the jury voiced their agreement with the verdict.
During the trial, Sampson’s lawyers argued a death sentence would be “redundant,” saying Sampson has end-stage liver disease, type 2 diabetes, heart problems and hypertension. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Hafer dismissed Sampson’s claim of being near death and having a traumatic brain injury as “con jobs.”