News >> Browse Articles >> Off Beat & Bizarre Incidents
Ex-Firefighter Who Killed Trooper Gets Death Penalty Again
Associated Press
November 02, 2010
LAWTON, Okla. (AP) – A former firefighter has again received the death penalty for the 2003 fatal shooting of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper.
Comanche County District Judge Mark Smith announced the verdict Monday in the resentencing trial of Ricky Malone, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the Dec. 26, 2003, killing of Trooper Nik Green.
Malone shot Green after Green found him in a car in Cotton County that had a mobile methamphetamine lab inside. Malone’s sentence was overturned on appeal.
District Attorney Fred Smith said the judge found two aggravating circumstances – that Green was a police officer killed in the line of duty and that his murder was to avoid arrest and prosecution for the underlying crime of manufacturing meth.
A Jan. 14 execution date has been set, but the district attorney says that will likely change when appeals are filed.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
