Image via KXAN
Earlier today, a Travis County judge served justice to 23-year-old Texan Rashad Owens for taking the lives of four individuals at last year’s SXSW conference. Owens, driving 55 miles per hour and under the influence at the time of the crime, struck person after person as he rushed through a crowded area. He was fleeing from a policeman after he failed to comply with a traffic stop.
A series of tragic, regrettable decisions led to needless bloodshed; those decisions, according to prosecutor Amy Meredith, stemmed from cognizant intent to harm. The jury agreed after a reportedly three-hour deliberation, unanimously finding the man guilty of capital murder and sentencing him to a lifelong stay in prison — sans parole.
Owens was also accused of aggravated assault for additionally injuring more than 20 others on that same March morning. Days before the ruling, local publication Austin American-Statesmen labeled the charges the most severe in the city’s history for a case of suspected drunk driving.
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Image via KXAN
Earlier today, a Travis County judge served justice to 23-year-old Texan Rashad Owens for taking the lives of four individuals at last year’s SXSW conference. Owens, driving 55 miles per hour and under the influence at the time of the crime, struck person after person as he rushed through a crowded area. He was fleeing from a policeman after he failed to comply with a traffic stop.
A series of tragic, regrettable decisions led to needless bloodshed; those decisions, according to prosecutor Amy Meredith, stemmed from cognizant intent to harm. The jury agreed after a reportedly three-hour deliberation, unanimously finding the man guilty of capital murder and sentencing him to a lifelong stay in prison — sans parole.
Owens was also accused of aggravated assault for additionally injuring more than 20 others on that same March morning. Days before the ruling, local publication Austin American-Statesmen labeled the charges the most severe in the city’s history for a case of suspected drunk driving.