Jill_Monier's Blog

Gauna will be sentenced to life in prison.

The jury now has to decide if he'll ever be eligible for parole. Typically a judge decides the sentence, but in a first degree murder conviction the jury decides.

The state had Sarah Beth Jenks, the troopers widow testify this afternoon during the sentencing phase. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. She said Calvin was her best friend and thought he was the greatest person in the world. She talked about the night he was murdered, how she was waiting on the couch for him to get home when she got a call that he was  killed. She said she went back to med school because she didn't want to sit around thinking about how she wanted to die.

Norm Jenks the troopers father also took the stand, saying how difficult it was to explain Calvin's death to his 12 year old brother.

Calvins mother also tearfully testified, saying how difficult Calvin's death has been on the family.

The defense will call character witnesses tomorrow. I understand many of them are still in Texas, since no one was sure when the trial would be over.

At the end of the today the District Attorney, Mike Dunavant said he was pleased with the verdict and that it was true justice.

The defense did not comment.