HOUSTON (AP) — A jury is to begin deliberations on sentencing for a man convicted in the strangulation death of a man whom he and his wife, a sheriff’s deputy, confronted outside a Houston-area restaurant.
FILE – In this June 13, 2018, file photo, Terry Thompson, accused of fatally choking John Hernandez, is shown in court in Houston. A jury on Monday, Nov. 5, convicted Thompson, the husband of a former sheriff’s deputy, of murder for the strangulation death of a man the couple confronted outside a Houston-area restaurant. ( Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool, File)
Deliberations are to begin Wednesday in Terry Thompson’s sentencing after both sides rested their cases Tuesday. He faces up to life in prison for his conviction Monday of killing 24-year-old John Hernandez in May 2017.
Friends and family testified he was peaceful, not given to anger. Prosecutors say he kept Hernandez in a chokehold, even after he stopped resisting.
Thompson’s attorneys argued that he acted in self-defense after being punched in the face. His wife, Chauna Thompson, helped restrain Hernandez and also faces an April murder trial. She was later fired by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
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