For a trial filled with so much emotion -- from the dramatic description of the shootout and rescue on Fairfield Street, to the unspeakable heartache of three families who can never be the same -- the rendering of the jury's sentence was remarkably subdued.
The courtroom remained still and silent as Richard A. Poplawski was condemned to die for killing three Pittsburgh police officers in the line of duty on April 4, 2009.
It took the jury of five women and seven men about 90 minutes to reach its decision.
Though they often cried during the victim impact testimony on Monday, no one on the jury shed tears Tuesday evening, even as they were polled individually to ensure death was their verdict.
The families of officers Paul J. Sciullo II, Stephen J. Mayhle and Eric Kelly remained stoic as well.
They held hands in the front two rows of the courtroom, surrounded on all sides by about three dozen uniformed Pittsburgh police officers. Only Officer Kelly's widow dropped her head and cried.
The defendant, too, stood still.
Judge Jeffrey A. Manning called Mr. Poplawski forward, ordering a deputy to handcuff the man as he stood before him.
He preceded the formal pronouncement with three cracks of his gavel.
"It is the order of this court that the sheriff of Allegheny County shall deliver you forthwith to the custody of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to be housed in such state correctional institution as designated by the secretary, and there, at a date and time set by warrant of the governor of the commonwealth, you shall be put to death by lethal injection or by the manner proscribed by law."
"May God have mercy on your soul."
The judge then scheduled a formal sentencing hearing for Sept. 6.
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