(FORT WAYNE) – A northeastern Indiana judge has rejected efforts by a man awaiting trial in four slayings to avoid a possible death penalty in the case.
An Allen County judge ruled Monday against 23-year-old Marcus Dansby’s bids to have the death penalty thrown out as an option and to have Indiana’s capital punishment statute declared unconstitutional.
Dansby’s attorneys argued that the Fort Wayne man was too young to get a possible death penalty if he’s convicted because he was 20 years old at the time of the killings.
The Journal Gazette reports that Dansby is charged in the fatal September 2016 shootings and stabbings of three people in Fort Wayne, including his ex-girlfriend, who was eight months pregnant.
Dansby’s trial is scheduled for April, but his lawyers are seeking a postponement.
Information from: The Journal Gazette, http://www.journalgazette.net
