Killing of Britons: US teen faces life term
Source: Agencies |
March 30, 2012, Friday
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A FLORIDA teen is facing life in prison without parole for murdering two young British tourists who got lost and wandered into a housing project where he lived.
A United States jury on Wednesday convicted 17-year-old Shawn Tyson of two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting of James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, last April.
The two men were on a three-week Sarasota holiday and spent an evening drinking when they got lost.
Both were considered fun-loving world travelers. Their friends Paul Davis and Joe Hallett said the pair had a knack for making friends with people of all ages and races. Cooper had traveled to Australia and loved tennis. Kouzaris taught English in Taiwan and had traveled through Central America.
The men were staying with Cooper's family on a Gulf coast beach near Sarasota and on April 15, they dined and drank downtown.
Authorities said both were drunk when they got lost and wandered into the housing project where Tyson lived.
Witnesses testified that Tyson told them he saw two "crackers" - a derogatory term for white people - walking through the neighborhood and that he intended to rob them. The tourists said they didn't have any money and begged Tyson to let them go home. "Since you ain't got no money, then I have something for your ass," Tyson recounted to a witness, then added that he shot the men several times.
Davis, who attended the trial, said although he was satisfied with the verdict, it rang hollow. "Ours is a life sentence with no chance of parole for a broken heart and a shattered soul," he said.
Kouzaris was from Northampton and Cooper was from Hampton Lucy, Warwick.
A United States jury on Wednesday convicted 17-year-old Shawn Tyson of two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting of James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, last April.
The two men were on a three-week Sarasota holiday and spent an evening drinking when they got lost.
Both were considered fun-loving world travelers. Their friends Paul Davis and Joe Hallett said the pair had a knack for making friends with people of all ages and races. Cooper had traveled to Australia and loved tennis. Kouzaris taught English in Taiwan and had traveled through Central America.
The men were staying with Cooper's family on a Gulf coast beach near Sarasota and on April 15, they dined and drank downtown.
Authorities said both were drunk when they got lost and wandered into the housing project where Tyson lived.
Witnesses testified that Tyson told them he saw two "crackers" - a derogatory term for white people - walking through the neighborhood and that he intended to rob them. The tourists said they didn't have any money and begged Tyson to let them go home. "Since you ain't got no money, then I have something for your ass," Tyson recounted to a witness, then added that he shot the men several times.
Davis, who attended the trial, said although he was satisfied with the verdict, it rang hollow. "Ours is a life sentence with no chance of parole for a broken heart and a shattered soul," he said.
Kouzaris was from Northampton and Cooper was from Hampton Lucy, Warwick.
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