Judge overrules jury, sentences Gregory Lance Henderson to death - WTVM.com-Columbus, GA News Weather & Sports

Judge overrules jury, sentences Gregory Lance Henderson to death

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Gregory Henderson, a Georgia-native, is accused of running over and killing Lee County sheriff's deputy James Anderson in 2009. Gregory Henderson, a Georgia-native, is accused of running over and killing Lee County sheriff's deputy James Anderson in 2009.
Lee County Deputy James W. Anderson Lee County Deputy James W. Anderson
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LEE COUNTY, AL (WTVM) -

The Lee County Court Administration has confirmed that Judge Jacob A. Walker III has sentenced Gregory Lance Henderson to death.

In October 2011, a jury convicted Gregory Henderson in the capital murder of Lee County Sheriff's Deputy James W. Anderson in September 2009. 

In a 9 to 3 vote, jurors recommended life without the possibility of parole.

Judge Walker overrode the Lee County jury's recommendation for life in prison around 11:15 a.m. Thursday. 

A report from the Equal Justice Initiative says Alabama is the only state where judges routinely override jury verdicts of life to impose the death penalty.

According to the report, since 1976 judges in Alabama overrode jury verdicts 107 times. Of those, 92% of them were cases where a judge overruled jury verdicts of life to impose the death penalty.

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