WASHINGTON – A jury in Stephenville, Texas, has found Eddie Ray Routh guilty of capital murder in the fatal shooting of “American Sniper“ author Chris Kyle and his friend.
Judge Jason Cashon gave the case to the Erath County jury on Tuesday after three hours of closing arguments, CBS reports. CBS says that the jury deliberated about two and a half hours.
Prosecutors said in their closing argument that Routh knew what he was doing when he shot Kyle and Chad Littlefield in 2013, pointing out that Routh fled from the police after the shooting. The defense says that Routh was delusional, suffering from PTSD and schizophrenia, and that he thought Kyle and Littlefield wanted to kill him.
Cashon immediately sentenced Routh to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It was the only choice available to him, CBS says, since the death penalty was not sought.
ABC Radio reports that under Texas law, even if a person was suffering from a mental illness, they can be found guilty as long as they understood that what they did was wrong.
