SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty for the gunman who killed an Elizabethtown man during a robbery in front of his home in May, 2007.
IMAGES: Killers, Victim, Scene
Abraham Sanchez Jr. and three other men were convicted in the shooting of Ray Diener, 65. Prosecutors say the four randomly picked Diener's home to rob and that Sanchez shot Diener on his front doorstep.
Sanchez's attorney argued his client's mental capacity should have been discussed before the trial instead of during sentencing. The state Supreme Court upheld his death sentence.
However, the case will impact future trials. Now juries will have to decide if a mentally disabled defendant qualifies to avoid execution before sentencing.
Ray Diener was known to many as someone who always volunteered his time. He and his wife, Barbara, volunteered with the organization Brittany's Hope, which helps children with special needs from other countries find adoptive homes. Diener and his family would often open their home to adoptive families who needed a place to stay.
Diener ran a water purification business and sometimes helped install purification systems in third-world countries.
Diener had three grown children and five grandchildren.
Diener's killers rang his doorbell around 10:45 p.m. on May 2, 2007, and asked Diener to use a phone, claiming their car had broken down. Diener gave them his cell phone, but at some point, he and Abraham Sanchez, then 18 years old, scuffled. Sanchez then shot Diener three times, killing him.
IMAGES: Killers, Victim, Scene
Abraham Sanchez Jr. and three other men were convicted in the shooting of Ray Diener, 65. Prosecutors say the four randomly picked Diener's home to rob and that Sanchez shot Diener on his front doorstep.
Sanchez's attorney argued his client's mental capacity should have been discussed before the trial instead of during sentencing. The state Supreme Court upheld his death sentence.
However, the case will impact future trials. Now juries will have to decide if a mentally disabled defendant qualifies to avoid execution before sentencing.
Ray Diener was known to many as someone who always volunteered his time. He and his wife, Barbara, volunteered with the organization Brittany's Hope, which helps children with special needs from other countries find adoptive homes. Diener and his family would often open their home to adoptive families who needed a place to stay.
Diener ran a water purification business and sometimes helped install purification systems in third-world countries.
Diener had three grown children and five grandchildren.
Diener's killers rang his doorbell around 10:45 p.m. on May 2, 2007, and asked Diener to use a phone, claiming their car had broken down. Diener gave them his cell phone, but at some point, he and Abraham Sanchez, then 18 years old, scuffled. Sanchez then shot Diener three times, killing him.
