Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Prosecutor argues for death penalty in Torres trial

- TRACY M. NEAL Tracy M. Neal can be reached by email at tneal@nwaonline.com or Twitter @NWATracy.

BENTONVILL­E — A jury is still weighing whether Mauricio Torres should be executed for killing his 6-yearold son.

The eight men and four women deliberate­d for more than four hours Tuesday before Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren sent them home for the day.

The panel will resume deliberati­ng at 8:30 a.m. today.

Jurors started their deliberati­on Tuesday after hearing instructio­ns from Karren and closing statements from the attorneys.

The jury found Torres, 53, guilty of capital murder and battery last week in the death of Maurice Isaiah Torres. Isaiah died March 30, 2015, from an infection caused when a stick was shoved in his rectum. A medical examiner listed chronic child abuse as a factor in Isaiah’s death.

Torres could be sentenced to death or life imprisonme­nt without the benefit of parole for the murder conviction. He faces five to 20 years in prison for the battery conviction.

Torres said in a 2015 police interview he put the stick in his son’s rectum but later testified his son was holding the stick while doing squats. Torres said Isaiah fell on the stick, and it went inside his rectum.

Jurors saw photograph­s of bruises and wounds covering Isaiah’s body.

Torres admitted he physically abused his son but claimed his wife was responsibl­e for most of the abuse delivered to Isaiah. Cathy Torres, 51, pleaded guilty in 2017 to capital murder and battery. She was sentenced to life imprisonme­nt without parole.

Prosecutor­s presented testimony at the sentencing from Mauricio Torres’ two adult children and adult stepdaught­er, who said Torres physically and sexually abused them as children.

Torres last week pleaded with jurors to spare his life and not sentence him to death. He also told jurors about being physically and sexually abused.

Benton County Prosecutin­g Attorney Nathan Smith on Tuesday described the case as an ugly and dark one. He told jurors he’s sure some of them will never forget the images and testimony.

“A just sentence in this case for these crimes is the death penalty,” Smith said. “I’m asking you to do justice for an abused and murdered 6-year-old boy named Isaiah Torres.”

Jeff Rosenzweig, one of Torres’ attorneys, asked the jury to spare his client’s life. He told the panel any one of them can spare his life because the decision has to be unanimous. Torres would spend the rest of his life in prison and probably never see a child again, Rosenzweig said.

He said the jury should consider prosecutor­s never alleged Torres intended to kill his son.

“He didn’t intend to torture,” he said.

He asked jurors to consider his client’s past. One of Torres’ aunts testified about seeing him repeatedly beaten when he was a child. Rosenzweig said Torres suffered from lack of self-esteem and was love-starved due to growing up without a mother.

“He could outrun his family geographic­ally, but not in his head,” Rosenzweig said.

Smith had the final words to the jury. He said the death penalty is reserved for people like Torres who commit monstrous acts.

Mercy is an important part of the law, but Torres refuses to admit to killing his son and abusing other children, Smith said. He said Torres had no sympathy or pity for his son, who was an innocent and vulnerable child.

It’s the second time a jury has deliberate­d on whether Torres should live or die.

Torres was tried, convicted and sentenced to death in 2016 in his son’s murder, but the state Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 2019 and ordered Torres receive a new trial.

A second jury found Torres guilty of murder and battery. The proceeding­s ended during the sentencing phase March 5, 2020, when a witness jumped from the witness stand box and attempted to attack Torres. A Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputy and a bailiff stopped the witness from reaching Torres.

Karren declared a mistrial and ruled Torres should have another trial. The Arkansas attorney general’s office appealed, but the Arkansas Supreme Court agreed with Karren.

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