PHOENIX (AP) - The Latest on trial of an Arizona woman convicted in the child-abuse death of her 10-year-old cousin (all times local):
1:36 p.m.
A lawyer for a Phoenix woman convicted in the killing of a 10-year-old cousin who was padlocked for hours in a plastic storage box pleaded with jurors not to sentence her to death.
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Attorney John Curry says Sammantha Allen grew up in a dysfunctional household where corporal punishment was accepted and where adults treated the victim more harshly than other children living there.
Curry is seeking a life prison sentence against Allen in the 2011 death of Ame (pronounced AY-me) Deal.
Authorities say Allen and her husband made Ame get into the box as punishment for having stolen an ice pop and fell asleep without letting her out.
Prosecutors declined to make an opening statement Monday during the trial’s penalty phase, but may do so later in the case.
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4 a.m.
Lawyers are scheduled to make arguments Monday over whether an Arizona woman should get life in prison or be sentenced to death for her part in the death of her 10-year-old cousin who was padlocked inside a plastic storage box for six hours.
Sammantha Lucille Rebecca Allen was previously convicted on first-degree murder and child abuse charges in the 2011 death of Ame (pronounced AY-me) Deal.
Authorities say Allen and her husband are responsible for making Deal get into the box the night before as punishment for having stolen an ice pop and had fallen asleep without letting her out.
Allen’s husband, John Michael Allen, is scheduled to be tried Oct. 9 on child abuse and murder charges.
He has pleaded not guilty.
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This story has been corrected to show that while prosecutors declined to make opening statements Monday, they may make such arguments later on at the trial.
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