- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
A chubby-cheeked young defendant surprised a packed courtroom Thursday by pleading guilty to the Halloween 2007 murder of a Philadelphia police officer during a doughnut store robbery.
Now the jury must decide if the slaying was premeditated or a panicked reaction. A premeditated murder conviction could subject the defendant to the death penalty.
Officer Chuck Cassidy is remembered as a warm, dedicated community servant. The 54-year-old was raising three children with his high school sweetheart and made daily rounds at small businesses on his beat.
Defendant John Lewis of Philadelphia is the 23-year-old son of a corrections officer.
Prosecutors say he grew increasingly brazen -- and violent -- over a half-dozen store robberies during a six-week crime spree.
