torrey
05-01-2002, 06:51 AM
Battaglia sentenced to die for killing girls
Jury discounts bipolar illness; 'burn in hell,' ex-wife tells him
05/01/2002
By STEVE McGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News
John David Battaglia was sentenced to death Tuesday after a Dallas jury rejected defense arguments that his bipolar illness should lessen his punishment for murdering his two daughters.
Mr. Battaglia, 46, showed no reaction to the verdict or to an emotional statement read by his former wife Mary Jean Pearle in which she wished him to "burn in hell forever" for the slayings of Faith, 9, and Liberty, 6.
RICHARD MICHAEL PRUITT / DMN
"You are one of the most heinous murderers of modern time," Mary Jean Pearle told ex-husband John Battaglia in court Tuesday after the jury sentenced him to death. "Hitler didn't kill his own children. [Jeffrey] Dahmer didn't kill his own children."
"You are one of the most heinous murderers of modern times," Ms. Pearle said from the witness stand as she faced her former husband. "Hitler didn't kill his own children. [Jeffrey] Dahmer didn't kill his own children."
Ms. Pearle, 39, vowed to spend the rest of her life helping others escape domestic violence and told Mr. Battaglia to forget about her.
"I would like to say the next time you see me is when they put the needle in your arm," she said. "But I'm not going to waste the time to be there."
Also Online
Victim impact statement of Mary Jean Pearle, ex-wife of John Battaglia
Video:
4/30: Full News 8 coverage
4/30: Judge reads Battaglia's sentence
4/25: Battaglia's violence recalled in penalty phase
4/24: Battaglia found guilty
Mr. Battaglia, who spoke only once during the weeklong trial to proclaim his love for his daughters, waved to his father and stepmother as he was led from the courtroom by bailiffs.
His father, also named John, told reporters that the loss of his granddaughters had been compounded by the loss of his son.
"No matter what they think or say, he's still my son, and I still love him," he said.
The jury reached its decision after hearing four days of testimony in the trial's punishment phase, which centered on whether Mr. Battaglia was suffering from a bipolar disorder when he shot his daughters to death in his Deep Ellum apartment.
RICHARD MICHAEL PRUITT / DMN
John Battaglia had no visible reaction to his death sentence Tuesday or to an emotional statement read by his ex-wife.
After deliberating 6 ½ hours, the jury of seven men and five women concluded that it had heard no evidence warranting a life sentence. Jurors also concluded that Mr. Battaglia would be a continuing threat to society.
Jurors left the courtroom without talking to reporters after state District Judge Janice Warder sentenced Mr. Battaglia to death.
His sentence came two days short of the first anniversary of the death of his daughters, who were shot despite pleas for mercy while their mother listened over a speakerphone.
At the time of the shootings, Mr. Battaglia thought he was about to be arrested for violating probation on a domestic violence charge. Witnesses said Mr. Battaglia blamed Ms. Pearle for his predicament.
Ms. Pearle testified that Mr. Battaglia had told his daughters that he might be arrested when he picked them up for their weekly visit. The girls were apprehensive about seeing their father, Ms. Pearle said.
"Liberty hid under her bed, not wanting to go to dinner with you that Wednesday night," Ms. Pearle read from her victim statement. "But I said, 'Oh, it will be OK.' I trusted you with their lives."
Prosecutors described Mr. Battaglia as an angry, vindictive man with a long history of violence toward his spouses. The murders were "the ultimate act of revenge" and showed that Mr. Battaglia had no conscience, they said.
Faith Battaglia
Liberty Battaglia
"These facts cannot get any clearer," Assistant District Attorney Pat Kirlin said in closing arguments. "If a man can do this and use his kids as pawns to get at his ex-wife, he can do anything."
Lead prosecutor Howard Blackmon said after the sentencing that he agreed with the jury.
"I think they came to the right decision based on the horrific nature of this crime," he said.
Mr. Battaglia's defense attorneys asked the jury to sentence their client to life in prison because, they contended, there was conclusive psychiatric evidence that the murders would not have occurred if not for his bipolar condition.
"You can't punish a person who is mentally ill the same way you would a person who is not," defense attorney Paul Johnson said.
Mr. Johnson noted that three psychiatrists, including one appointed to examine Mr. Battaglia by Judge Warder, agreed that Mr. Battaglia would not be a threat to society if he received proper medication.
Mr. Johnson said he was not surprised by the jury's verdict.
"I think we put up for this case and for this evidence about as good a defense [as possible]," he said. "It's obvious the jury took the time to consider the issues."
Mr. Johnson told jurors that sending Mr. Battaglia to prison for life would be worse than a death sentence, but he said Mr. Battaglia prepared himself long ago for being sent to death row.
"John made peace with himself over what happened several months ago," Mr. Johnson said. "John would rather die than live day for day with what happened."
He called the case "a tragedy for all involved, including the defendant."
Under state law, the sentence must be automatically appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin. Judge Warder said she was appointing an attorney to handle the appeal.
Jury discounts bipolar illness; 'burn in hell,' ex-wife tells him
05/01/2002
By STEVE McGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News
John David Battaglia was sentenced to death Tuesday after a Dallas jury rejected defense arguments that his bipolar illness should lessen his punishment for murdering his two daughters.
Mr. Battaglia, 46, showed no reaction to the verdict or to an emotional statement read by his former wife Mary Jean Pearle in which she wished him to "burn in hell forever" for the slayings of Faith, 9, and Liberty, 6.
RICHARD MICHAEL PRUITT / DMN
"You are one of the most heinous murderers of modern time," Mary Jean Pearle told ex-husband John Battaglia in court Tuesday after the jury sentenced him to death. "Hitler didn't kill his own children. [Jeffrey] Dahmer didn't kill his own children."
"You are one of the most heinous murderers of modern times," Ms. Pearle said from the witness stand as she faced her former husband. "Hitler didn't kill his own children. [Jeffrey] Dahmer didn't kill his own children."
Ms. Pearle, 39, vowed to spend the rest of her life helping others escape domestic violence and told Mr. Battaglia to forget about her.
"I would like to say the next time you see me is when they put the needle in your arm," she said. "But I'm not going to waste the time to be there."
Also Online
Victim impact statement of Mary Jean Pearle, ex-wife of John Battaglia
Video:
4/30: Full News 8 coverage
4/30: Judge reads Battaglia's sentence
4/25: Battaglia's violence recalled in penalty phase
4/24: Battaglia found guilty
Mr. Battaglia, who spoke only once during the weeklong trial to proclaim his love for his daughters, waved to his father and stepmother as he was led from the courtroom by bailiffs.
His father, also named John, told reporters that the loss of his granddaughters had been compounded by the loss of his son.
"No matter what they think or say, he's still my son, and I still love him," he said.
The jury reached its decision after hearing four days of testimony in the trial's punishment phase, which centered on whether Mr. Battaglia was suffering from a bipolar disorder when he shot his daughters to death in his Deep Ellum apartment.
RICHARD MICHAEL PRUITT / DMN
John Battaglia had no visible reaction to his death sentence Tuesday or to an emotional statement read by his ex-wife.
After deliberating 6 ½ hours, the jury of seven men and five women concluded that it had heard no evidence warranting a life sentence. Jurors also concluded that Mr. Battaglia would be a continuing threat to society.
Jurors left the courtroom without talking to reporters after state District Judge Janice Warder sentenced Mr. Battaglia to death.
His sentence came two days short of the first anniversary of the death of his daughters, who were shot despite pleas for mercy while their mother listened over a speakerphone.
At the time of the shootings, Mr. Battaglia thought he was about to be arrested for violating probation on a domestic violence charge. Witnesses said Mr. Battaglia blamed Ms. Pearle for his predicament.
Ms. Pearle testified that Mr. Battaglia had told his daughters that he might be arrested when he picked them up for their weekly visit. The girls were apprehensive about seeing their father, Ms. Pearle said.
"Liberty hid under her bed, not wanting to go to dinner with you that Wednesday night," Ms. Pearle read from her victim statement. "But I said, 'Oh, it will be OK.' I trusted you with their lives."
Prosecutors described Mr. Battaglia as an angry, vindictive man with a long history of violence toward his spouses. The murders were "the ultimate act of revenge" and showed that Mr. Battaglia had no conscience, they said.
Faith Battaglia
Liberty Battaglia
"These facts cannot get any clearer," Assistant District Attorney Pat Kirlin said in closing arguments. "If a man can do this and use his kids as pawns to get at his ex-wife, he can do anything."
Lead prosecutor Howard Blackmon said after the sentencing that he agreed with the jury.
"I think they came to the right decision based on the horrific nature of this crime," he said.
Mr. Battaglia's defense attorneys asked the jury to sentence their client to life in prison because, they contended, there was conclusive psychiatric evidence that the murders would not have occurred if not for his bipolar condition.
"You can't punish a person who is mentally ill the same way you would a person who is not," defense attorney Paul Johnson said.
Mr. Johnson noted that three psychiatrists, including one appointed to examine Mr. Battaglia by Judge Warder, agreed that Mr. Battaglia would not be a threat to society if he received proper medication.
Mr. Johnson said he was not surprised by the jury's verdict.
"I think we put up for this case and for this evidence about as good a defense [as possible]," he said. "It's obvious the jury took the time to consider the issues."
Mr. Johnson told jurors that sending Mr. Battaglia to prison for life would be worse than a death sentence, but he said Mr. Battaglia prepared himself long ago for being sent to death row.
"John made peace with himself over what happened several months ago," Mr. Johnson said. "John would rather die than live day for day with what happened."
He called the case "a tragedy for all involved, including the defendant."
Under state law, the sentence must be automatically appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin. Judge Warder said she was appointing an attorney to handle the appeal.