CLARKE COUNTY, Ga. — Convicted cop killer Jamie Hood will spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of an Athens police officer. The jury declined to give hood a death sentence for the murders of Officer Buddy Christian and suspected drug dealer Omari Wray.
Hood admitted during the trial to shooting and killing Christian, but tried to convince the jury that the shootings were justified.
In 2011, Hood killed Christian and wounded Officer Tony Howard. He surrendered four days later on Channel 2 Action News.
Christian-Griffeth says the sentencing is not the end. She expects Hood to appeal.
During the trial, Howard took the stand and talked about his long road to recovery and his years of survivor's guilt after suffering two gunshot wounds.
“At one point, I was afraid to face the men and women who wore the badge, because I felt that I let them down in getting shot because one person lived and another person died,” Howard testified.
During the course of the trial, Hood fired two public defenders and represented himself.
When Hood took the stand he told jurors "I'm not a cop killer...I feel like I been cheated out of my life, and I'm mad."
Jamie Hood got teary eyed, and nodded his approval as the jury declined to sentence him to death for killing Christian. The jury also declined to sentence Hood to death for the murder of Wray.
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Christian's wife, Melissa Christian-Griffeth, released a statement after the jury's decision in Hood's sentencing:
"We are forever indebted to the public servants who investigated these crimes and captured this murderer, the District Attorney's office that prosecuted this case, the judges that presided over the trial proceedings, the jurors that sacrificed themselves to weigh the evidence, the witnesses that testified, and the public that supported and prayed for us. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of them. They are our heroes. Justice was delivered."
While he was on the run, Hood also wounded Officer Tony Howard. He claimed that there was "bad blood" between himself and Howard from a previous interaction.