Made-for-TV trial's verdict: Killer's life spared
CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- A man convicted of killing two people was spared the death penalty in a case that was filmed from start to finish for a documentary -- including jury deliberations.
Jurors recommended Thursday that Mark Ducic, 47, serve life in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend and friend. The same jury convicted him earlier in the week of killing the two with drug overdoses.
Cuyahoga County Judge Nancy McDonnell sentenced Ducic to back-to-back life terms without possibility of parole.
Ducic thanked the jury for sparing his life but insisted that he did not kill Barbara Davis, 41, and Donald Ehrke, 44. He said the overdoses were self-inflicted.
Prosecutors said Ducic killed Davis in September 2001 to stop her from reporting his thefts and drug dealing to police, then killed Ehrke, a witness to Davis' death, 15 months later.
Cameras for ABC News recorded the trial for a courtroom documentary, "State v.," which will air late this summer.
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