HOUSTON – A man who is death row for the murder of a Houston woman was re-sentenced Tuesday to life in prison.
Due to a previous Federal Court ruling, Robert James Campbell can’t be executed because he's intellectually disabled.
In court on Tuesday, Campbell apologized to everyone he hurt and said he prayed to God every night.
A jury convicted Campbell of capital murder in 1992 and sentenced him to death by lethal injection.
Prosecutors said he kidnapped, raped and murdered 20-year-old Alejandra Rendon in 1991. They said Rendon was a bank teller and was planning her wedding.
“This person is the epitome of evil in our society. To think that there’s a technicality that turned him loose, that’s going to make him a free man one day. The possibility of it absolutely is the reason people lock their doors at night," said Rendon’s cousin, Noe Santana.
Santana made a powerful statement in court Tuesday and called Campbell a "coward."
Life in prison without parole was not an option in 1991.
Campbell was immediately eligible for parole and could face the board in four to six months.