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Judge sentences cop killer to death FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A judge sentenced a North Carolina man Friday to die in Florida's electric chair for killing a police officer, overriding a jury's recommendation of life in prison.
Broward County Judge Mark Speiser levied the ultimate penalty against Jeffrey Lee Weaver after considering the gravity of his crime.
Weaver, 37, of Salisbury, N.C., was convicted May 26 of first-degree murder in the January 1996 shooting death of Fort Lauderdale police officer, Bryant Peney, during a routine stop.
Before the sentencing, Todd Peney, a sergeant in the Fort Lauderdale Police Department told the court that Weaver had no regard for his twin brother's life.
Weaver, acting as his own attorney during the trial, argued that the fatal shot was fired by Ray Myers, a reserve officer and former FBI agent who was working with Peney that night.
Broward County State Attorney Mike Satz told jurors that although Myers fired his gun, experts testified that bullet did not hit Peney.
Weaver denied that he had ever aimed at Peney, insisting he fired a shot to try to frighten the officer so he would stop chasing Weaver on foot.
Weaver said detectives framed him for Peney's killing, and implied that police officers altered reports and lied to the jury.
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