Jury Reaches Verdict In Death Penalty Phase Of Albert Johnson Trial

A jury of nine men and three women reached a verdict in the death penalty phase of a man they convicted and sentenced to 10 life terms.

The jury recommended the death penalty against Albert Johnson who was convicted of assaulting two women which resulted in the death of one of them. 

Wednesday morning, the jury heard from Johnson's biological father, who did not even recognize his own son that he abandoned when he was 7, and who now faces either the death penalty or life without parole.

Despite coming face to face with his only living parent, Johnson continued to show no emotion during this last day of testimony in the sentencing portion of his trial.

Both the prosecution and defense gave impassioned closing arguments, asking the jury to take into consideration all of the evidence and aggravators and mitigating factors in this trial.

The state is asking for the ultimate punishment which is death, saying Johnson is a sexual deviant and sociopath who poses a continued threat to society.

They brought up that when he killed 24-year-old Rachel Rogers, it was especially heinous, atrocious and cruel.

Johnson's defense team said Johnson was also raped and abused as a child and grew angry as a result.

They told the jury that three of their experts diagnosed him with a mental illness called intermittent explosive disorder and that since they already sentenced him to 10 life sentences, the 49-year-old will never get out and will most likely die in prison.

6/21/16 Related Story: Testimony Continues In Death Penalty Phase Against Albert Johnson