Two years ago Juan Lizcano killed a Dallas police officer. This week a Dallas County jury decided that the state should kill him.
Lizcano murdered Officer Brian Jackson in November 2005 during a domestic violence incident at the home of his former girlfriend.
The jury deliberated slightly more than three hours before it decided that Lizcano should die for his crime.
Hearing the verdict, Officer Jackson's parents, John and Valerie Jackson, held each other and cried silently.
Officer Jackson's wife Jo-Ann Jackson told the Dallas Morning News, "I waited my whole life for somebody like Brian. I am so empty, I don't know if I will ever be filled again."
Lizcano is an illegal alien who entered the country from Mexico in 2000. His attorneys argued during the sentencing portion of the trial that he should not be executed because of his low IQ.
Prosecutors Patrick Kirlin, Kim Judin, and Josh Healy successfully argued that Lizcano is not retarded and deserved a death sentence for murdering Officer Jackson.
Kirlin attacked the low IQ defense in his closing argument, saying, "How does that cause him to load a weapon…and ultimately shoot, kill, and ambush Officer Brian Jackson? How does that excuse, explain his actions? This man right here is a cop killer, and they want to characterize it as unfortunate circumstances."
