Eddie Ray Routh Found Guilty in 'American Sniper' Murder Trial

[Snowman78]

A Texas jury has found Eddie Ray Routh guilty of murder in the killings of "American Sniper" Chris Kyle and Kyle's friend, Chad Littlefield.
The jury announced its verdict at around 10:20 p.m. E.T. at a Stephenville courthouse. They were given the case at 7:36 p.m. E.T.
Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, and Routh was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Routh, 27, admitted to killing both men at the shooting range of Rough Creek Lodge and Resort, southwest of Dallas, on Feb. 2, 2013.
Routh pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to capital murder. His attorneys have said Routh, a former Marine corporal who served in Iraq but not in a combat role, was in the grip of a medically diagnosed psychosis at the time of the killings.
Prosecutors said that Routh was drinking and smoking marijuana on the morning of the crime. They argue that he was paranoid because he was high, and that he was angry about living with his parents, relationship problems, money and his job — then finally exploded when Kyle and Littlefield snubbed him.
Prosecutors said that Routh was drinking and smoking marijuana on the morning of the crime. They argue that he was paranoid because he was high, and that he was angry about living with his parents, relationship problems, money and his job — then finally exploded when Kyle and Littlefield snubbed him.
Experts for the prosecution have testified that Routh knew what he was doing was wrong when he killed the two men.
Earlier Thursday, jurors heard a recording in which Routh told a reporter nearly four months after the killings that, "It tore my (expletive) heart out what I did. I don't know why I did it, but I did it."
Routh, speaking to a reporter from The New Yorker magazine on May 31, 2013, said, "I feel so (expletive) about it. I guess you live and learn, you know."
"American Sniper," the movie based on Kyle's account of his experiences as a Navy SEAL, was nominated for best picture at the Oscars. Kyle's widow, Taya, attended the ceremony on Sunday night before flying back to Texas for the rest of the trial.

[beast556]

Good news, to bad he didnt get the needle.

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

Good news, to bad he didnt get the needle.

Honestly, better to live long and lonely with the guilt.

[Fentonite]

Honestly, better to live long and lonely with the guilt.

I disagree. End him. Why should we (tax-payers) keep spending our money to keep him alive? He will never be a contributor to our society, so I don't think we should spend money keeping him alive. Quite simply, it's bad economics.

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

I disagree. End him. Why should we (tax-payers) keep spending our money to keep him alive? He will never be a contributor to our society, so I don't think we should spend money keeping him alive. Quite simply, it's bad economics.

Because you are going to spend at least as much if not more to "end him." It is "bad economics" either option with this guy.
http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view....stionID=001000

What would YOU rather have if you did something horribly wrong? Decades of confinement, guilt, surprise buttsecks, miscellaneous prison fights from zero-liability humans, or a quick end?
I know my answer.

[Fentonite]

Because you are going to spend at least as much if not more to "end him." It is "bad economics" either option with this guy.
http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view....stionID=001000

What would YOU rather have if you did something horribly wrong? Decades of confinement, guilt, surprise buttsecks, miscellaneous prison fights from zero-liability humans, or a quick end?
I know my answer.

I clicked the link, kinda interesting. Thanks for posting it. Seems like most (not all) of the opinions stated there were regarding the cost of the initial trial, not necessarily the entire cost of lifelong incarceration, multiple repeated appeals from a bored inmate, etc. There were reasoned arguments on both sides. Maybe my "bad economics" argument doesn't hold water, maybe it does, I'm not convinced either way now. I get your point.

Regardless, I still prefer that scumbags like this are put down. Granted, if I was in their shoes, I (like you) would prefer a quick end. But I'm not convinced that psychopaths think like you or me. Many times they have agreed to a life sentence without parole, so that they could avoid the needle. These scumbags are so megalomaniacal that their own existence is all-important. I don't think that they have the capacity for self-reflection or meaningful feelings of guilt, let alone actual rehabilitation.

Besides, prisoners in the US have way too many rights. If we could send him to a Mexican or Turkish prison, that might be suitable. Sure, he's gonna have some miserable times in a US prison, but he's also gonna still be alive. He's gonna watch tv. He might make a friend. He will probably be a pain in the ass to a C.O., just for fun. The thought of him even laughing at a tv show one time, or being even a little bit happy that he gets Cheetos from the commissary, bothers me. He should never again have even the tiniest thing to find pleasure in.

That's just my opinion. We both agree that he's a POS who deserves nothing but badness in his future; we just see the details differently.

[Gunner]

I disagree. End him. Why should we (tax-payers) keep spending our money to keep him alive? He will never be a contributor to our society, so I don't think we should spend money keeping him alive. Quite simply, it's bad economics.

I agree 100% he could potentially spend the next 60+years behind bars. If we say it costs about 30k a year we could have spent upwards or 1.8 million to lock him up for the next 60 years assuming he lives that long. What a waste of money. We need to start executing people who commit murder. Code of Hammurabi eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

[osok-308]

Honestly, better to live long and lonely with the guilt.

Disagree. Now he can cost the tax payers for the next 60 years of his life.

[Irving]

Hmmm, I was always under the impression that he killed himself at the time as well. Guess I never really followed the story. Glad to hear he was found guilty.

[Spdu4ia]

Firing squad?