Death sentence in killing of Del. police officer

GEORGETOWN, Del. - May 20, 2011 (WPVI) -- A Maryland man has been sentenced to death in the 2009 shooting of a Georgetown police officer.

A Sussex County judge sentenced Derrick Powell of Cumberland, Md., at a hearing Friday.

Powell could have received life in prison without the possibility of parole for the killing of patrolman Chad Spicer. But the jury that convicted him recommended by a 7-5 vote that he be executed. A judge Friday agreed with the recommendation.

Powell's attorneys filed a motion to block the death penalty, citing the jury's narrow split and the fact that he was convicted on only one of two counts of first-degree murder.

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delaware, sussex county, police officer killed, crime

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