Deondra Lee Sentenced to Life Imprisonment Without Parole
A man convicted of capital murder last week in the triple slaying of 9-year-old twins and their babysitter in 2012 found out his sentence today. After hours of deliberation in the case against Deandra Lee, the jury voted 8-4 in favor of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
After announcing the jury’s conclusion, Judge Terri Bozeman Lovell agreed with the recommendation and sentenced Lee.
District Attorney for Lowndes County Charlotte Tesmer says her team is proud of the final decision.
“Extremely happy with the verdict, and respectful of today’s decision of life without parole. I know that’s a difficult decision for anybody to make. But they heard the evidence and they weighed the facts and we are okay with that,” Tesmer said.
Lee was convicted last week of murdering 9-year old twins Taylor and Jordan Dejerinette, and 73-year-old Jack Mac Girdner, who was caring for the twins at the time.
The charges against Lee included three counts of murder in the course of a robbery, one count of capital murder of two or more people and two counts of murder of people under 14 years of age.
Monday, the jury heard testimony from family members, and statements from psychologists who had evaluated Lee’s state of mind.
After the court was adjourned, Tesmer says the victims families were relieved.
“It was mixed, really basically among the family members, but they were happy, happy with the verdict and happy that he got life without parole,” Tesmer said.
Jurors said they weighed all evidence before bringing their recommendation to the judge.
“It was the collection of all the evidence, it’s not just one thing. It was a collection of everything that we put forward,” Tesmer said.
Lee will now have 42 days to appeal the decision. A restitution hearing will now be set in the coming weeks.
Lee was previously found not guilty in a Dallas County Shooting in 2008.///
