The leader of one of the biggest prison escapes in Texas history has been sentenced to death by a Dallas court for killing a police officer.
The decision came hours after George Rivas asked to be executed because he did not want to live "like an animal" in jail.
Rivas is the first of the seven escapees to be tried for shooting dead a Dallas police officer on December 24th last year. Dallas County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against the others.
Defence lawyers have been trying to get Rivas a life sentence, arguing he never intended to murder Officer Aubrey Hawkins. But Rivas yesterday urged jurors to give him a death sentence.
"What you call the death penalty, I call freedom," he said. "I can finally be free. I'm telling you right now I don't want another life sentence".
During the escape, the gang allegedly committed three armed robberies, including the fatal one at a sporting goods store. With about $50,000 in cash and cheques and 44 weapons, the men lived for about a month in a park in Colorado.
On January 22nd, police surrounded Rivas, Joseph Garcia and Michael Rodriguez at a shop. Randy Halprin gave himself up at the mobile home, where Larry Harper then killed himself.
Patrick Murphy and Donald Newbury, who had gone out on their own a day earlier, surrendered two days later at a motel in nearby Colorado Springs.
AP