A St. Clair County jury found Adrian Edward Glass, 27, guilty of the murders of his father, Jimmie Edward Glass, 51, and of his mother, Jackie Denise Glass, 49.
Shortly before noon Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge Phillip Seay sentenced Glass to two life sentences without the possibility of parole, in accordance with a plea agreement reached between the defendant and the state.
“Do I believe Mr. Glass is sad for what he did? Yes,” Assistant District Attorney Carol Boone told jurors before they deliberated the case. “Do I believe he wanted to accept responsibility? Yes.”
But Boone said Glass committed a capital offense.
“It doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be punished,” she said after jurors rendered their guilty verdict. “There are consequences for his actions. He left us no other choice.”
Glass provided authorities with two written confessions admitting that on the night prior to his mother’s birthday in July 2009, he entered the master bedroom where his parents slept and shot both of them to death with a .22 caliber bolt-action rifle.
During and after the trial, Glass, who was an only child, showed emotion and was tearful at times.
On Wednesday when photographs were shown of the victims, Glass lowered his head and closed his eyes.
Glass declined to make a statement to the court before he was sentenced.
Assistant District Attorney John DeMarco said Glass will be transported to Kilby Correctional Facility, where the Alabama Department of Corrections will process him.
DeMarco said Glass will then be transferred to one of three maximum security prisons in the state.
In February, Glass pleaded guilty to the capital murders, but Seay told jurors that state law requires a jury to find a capital murder defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Boone said Wednesday Glass was indicted for two counts of capital murder, instead of murder, because two or more people were killed during the same act.
After murdering his parents, Glass took $500 from his mother’s purse and fled the state.
Glass was eventually taken into custody without incident in South Dakota.
The state called its last witness Wednesday before resting its case.
Dr. Emily Ward, a state medical examiner for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, testified the couple died from multiple gunshot wounds.
She testified that Jimmie Glass was shot four times, and she recovered three of four small caliber bullets from his body.
Ward said Jimmie Glass was shot once in front of his right ear and once on the left side of his face. He was also shot twice in the chest.
She testified that Jackie Denise Glass was shot three times, twice in the head and once in the chest, although one head wound was a “superficial wound” that went through the victim’s left ear.
DeMarco told jurors that the evidence clearly showed that Glass shot and killed his parents before fleeing the scene.
He said during the eight-day period following the murders, the suspect traveled through 10-11 states to avoid arrest.
He also pointed to the confession Glass provided investigators.
“Those are the words of someone who shot and killed his parents,” DeMarco told jurors. “… On behalf of the state and the people of St. Clair County, hold this defendant accountable and find him guilty of the charges against him.”
James “Peter” Finley, Glass’ defense attorney, told jurors to use their “common sense” in reaching their verdict.
“You are being asked to speak in one voice whether the state proved its case,” Finley told jurors.
The jury took about nine minutes to render a guilty verdict.
Contact David Atchison at datchison@dailyhome.com.
