HOUSTON – The jury that convicted David Temple of murder in the slaying of his wife 20 years ago has been deliberating his sentence longer than it took them to decide on his guilt or innocence.
Jurors have been deliberating for about 14 hours in total since they handed down their verdict Tuesday in the January 1999 shooting death of Belinda Temple, who was eight months pregnant at the time.
The punishment could range from probation to life in prison.
The jury broke for about a half-hour Thursday for lunch, and later sent a note asking for the judge's guidance. On Wednesday, jurors told the judge they needed a break, and were sequestered for the night.
"The fact we haven't seen any notes from the jury means they are working through whatever impasse they may or may not have," said KPRC 2 legal analyst Brian Wice. "Usually, by this point, you'd think we'd see the inevitable, 'we're deadlocked.'"
David Temple has already served nine years in prison after his first murder conviction in 2007. He was released in 2016 when that conviction was overturned on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct.