Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Shipman's filing indicates that two aggravating circumstances would justify the death sentence.
According to trial evidence, Solis shot the 42-year-old deputy multiple times during a Sept. 27, 2019, traffic stop in a residential cul-de-sac 18 miles northwest of Houston. The deputy was returning to his patrol car when Solis shot him from behind.
During his testimony and closing argument of the guilt phase, Solis claimed that the shooting of Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal during a traffic stop was an accident.
Carl Wayne Buntion, 78, was executed at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the June 1990 fatal shooting of Houston police officer James Irby, a nearly 20-year member of the force.
Loyd was found guilty on five charges, including first-degree murder, in the shooting death of Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton outside of a Walmart in January 2017 while he was on the run for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, in December 2016.
The 12-member jury deliberated for about five hours over two days on whether Markeith Loyd should be executed for Clayton’s slaying.
"Over the objection of Mr. (Geoff) Lewin and I and despite our attempts to prevent this from happening, we've been ordered to remove the death penalty as punishment consideration in this case," Deputy District Attorney Garrett Dameron said during a hearing on the case today at the Norwalk courthouse.
The men face federal murder, drug and weapons charges in the seven-count indictment.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected all grounds of John William Hummel's appeal but said it would postpone the scheduled Wednesday execution “in light of the current health crisis and the enormous resources needed to address the execution.”
In the motion, the defense team wants to depose Orlando Police Deputy Chief Doug Goerke (then lieutenant), who they say devised the plan to use Clayton’s handcuffs to take Loyd into custody. The motion claims Goerke made the decision for the police department to take over the arrest and give them the opportunity to use deadly force.
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