A Florida judge has sentenced Howard Steven Ault to death for the 1996 abduction and murders of two young sisters.
Ault, 41, was convicted of raping and killing DeAnn Mu'min, 11, at his home in Fort Lauderdale and then killing her 7-year-old sister, Alicia, because she was a witness.
Ault had been sentenced to death in 2003; however, the sentence was overturned on a technicality involving jury selection.
The Miami Herald said Thursday Ault is expected to appeal. His lawyer maintains Ault was mentally ill and had been abused as a child, and that abuse victims often become abusers themselves.
Nevertheless, a jury recommended the death penalty in August. Broward Circuit Judge Marc Gold upheld the recommendation at Wednesday's hearing.
Ault, 41, was convicted of raping and killing DeAnn Mu'min, 11, at his home in Fort Lauderdale and then killing her 7-year-old sister, Alicia, because she was a witness.
Ault had been sentenced to death in 2003; however, the sentence was overturned on a technicality involving jury selection.
The Miami Herald said Thursday Ault is expected to appeal. His lawyer maintains Ault was mentally ill and had been abused as a child, and that abuse victims often become abusers themselves.
Nevertheless, a jury recommended the death penalty in August. Broward Circuit Judge Marc Gold upheld the recommendation at Wednesday's hearing.
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