Jurors Consider Death for Poplawski, After Guilty Verdict

Deputy District Attorney Mark V. Tranquilli urged jurors to give Richard Poplawski the death penalty for gunning down three Pittsburgh Police officers in a hail of gunfire at his home in April 2009.

"It is for you to decide — what does he deserve for what he did?" Tranquilli asked during his 30-minute opening statement. "In Allegheny County, we save the death penalty for the worst of the worst — people like Richard Poplawski."

The jury from Dauphin County on Saturday convicted Poplawski of 28 counts related to the shootings, including three counts of first-degree murder.

Poplawski, 24, shot and killed Officers Eric G. Kelly, 41, Stephen J. Mayhle, 29, and Paul J. Sciullo II, 36, in the April 4 shootout.

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review