MOBILE, Ala. (AP) – Marco Antonio Perez, the accused cop killer, is set to go on trial for capital murder in the first death penalty case in Mobile in nearly six years under a new law that puts sentencing solely in the hands of jurors. Previously, judges had the power to override the recommendations of juries.
The last person in Mobile County to face a death penalty trial was Christopher Jay Knapp, who was convicted in 2018 but was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. The last death sentence in the county was in 2017, and Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood said death penalty cases have been on hold since COVID-19 disrupted jury trials in 2020.
Since then, prosecutors have tried a number of capital murder cases, but the death penalty was taken off the table in each one. There are seven death penalty cases pending in Mobile County, including the case of Perez, who is set to go on trial for the 2019 shooting death of Mobile police Officer Sean Tuder.
Mobile County has historically been one of the more active death penalty jurisdictions in the state. In an interview, Blackwood expressed the importance of reserving the death penalty for the most heinous offenses, and that his office is re-evaluating cases already in the pipeline.
As the discussion continues, some have called to do away with the death penalty altogether, while Blackwood emphasized the necessity of the death penalty for an ordered society and noted that it should not be used lightly. Despite the lengthy appeals process, he firmly supports the death penalty when the circumstances call for it.
In conclusion, Perez is scheduled to go on trial in January for the shooting death of Officer Tuder, marking the first death penalty trial in Mobile under the jurisdiction of jurors. It remains to be seen how this case will influence future death penalty cases in the county and the overall discussion around the death penalty in Alabama.