Child Rapist In Jail Gets Death For Killing Female Guard
ANSON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — An inmate at a West Texas lockup serving 25 years for sexually assaulting a child has been sentenced to death for killing a female corrections officer.
A Jones County jury on Tuesday ordered the death penalty for 24-year-old Dillion Compton. Jurors on Oct. 15 convicted Compton of capital murder in the July 2016 slaying of guard Mari Johnson.
Prosecutors say Compton was found with scratches on his face and his skin underneath Johnson's fingernails.
Her body was found in a storage room at the Robertson prison unit in Abilene and prosecutors say she suffered blunt force trauma and a crushed throat.
The defense claimed the injuries were sustained when Compton attempted an "aggressive" form of CPR on her. They also claimed Compton and Johnson had a sexual relationship.
Deliberations in the penalty phase began Monday in Anson, 200 miles west of Dallas.
Records show Compton's prior sentence was for a 2010 Dallas County case in which a girl was raped.