Jury deciding whether to send man convicted in Ill. restaurant slayings case to death row
By APTuesday, October 20, 2009
Jury deliberating in Ill. restaurant slayings case
CHICAGO — Jurors are deciding whether a man convicted of killing seven employees at a suburban Chicago restaurant in 1993 should be sent to death row.
Before the case was turned over to jurors on Tuesday, defense attorney Mark Levitt asked them to spare the life of James Degorski. He says a life sentence for Degorski would be punishment enough.
Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Tom Biesty says Degorski does not deserve the jury’s mercy because he didn’t show it to those he shot and stabbed at the Brown’s Chicken and Pasta restaurant in Palatine.
Degorski’s co-defendant, Juan Luna, was convicted of murder in 2007 and sentenced to life in prison after one juror held out and refused to vote in favor of the death penalty.
