Colorado News: Jury Says Death Penalty
for Sir Mario Owens
On June 16, 2008, an Arapahoe County jury
sentenced Sir Mario Owens, 23, to death for
the murder of potential witness Javad Marshall-Fields
and his fiancée Vivian Wolfe.
Over
a year ago on April 3, 2007, Owens was sentenced
to receive life in prison without the possibility
of parole for the murder of Gregory Vann
at Lowry Park in Aurora on July 4, 2004.
He was also sentenced to an additional 64
years for trying to kill Javad Marshall-Fields
and Alvin Bell during the Lowry Park incident
(both men survived). Marshall- Fields and
Wolfe were murdered in June 2005.
The all-white
jury deliberated for six hours in Arapahoe
District Court and unanimously decided that
Owens be put to death by legal injection.
He was found to be guilty on two counts of
first-degree murder.
Owens is the second
man on Colorado's death
row. The first
inmate, Nathan Dunlap, is currently appealing
his case in the U.S. District Court.
Robert
Ray, co-defendant of Sir Mario Owens, is
also facing the death penalty and jury selection
in his case is scheduled to begin in February
of 2009.
