Lawyer sentenced to death for racist murders

A former immigration lawyer has been sentenced to death in Pennsylvania for killing five people in a racially motivated shooting spree last year.

Richard Baumhammers, 35, was sentenced by the same jury that found him guilty of the April 28, 2000 attacks on Wednesday.

Jurors had the option of giving him life in prison without parole.

Baumhammers showed no expression as the verdict was read. He nodded slightly to his parents as he was led from the courtroom.

Prosecutors said Baumhammers, who is white, selected his victims because of their ethnic backgrounds.

Defence lawyers, who argued that he was insane, had asked jurors to spare his life, saying his mental state made it impossible for him to control his actions.

‘‘In our society it is not your function to administer revenge. It is your function to administer justice,’’ defence attorney James Wymard told jurors.

‘‘It is not justice to kill someone who is mentally ill.’’

Killed in the rampage were Baumhammers’ Jewish neighbour, two Asian men, an Indian man and a black man. Another man of Indian descent was critically wounded as Baumhammers drove from place to place in his black Jeep.

During the trial, psychiatrists testified that Baumhammers was tormented by delusions that the FBI and CIA were on his tail, that the family maid was a spy and that his skin was peeling off.

Prosecutor Ed Borkowski acknowledged that Baumhammers was mentally ill but said he was ‘‘controlled, deliberate, calculating and selective’’ in picking victims, avoiding attention and eluding police.

He said Baumhammers wanted others to help him fight against non-white immigration and finally decided to take matters into his own hands.

Baumhammers becomes the 241st person on Pennsylvania’s death row. Three people have been executed in Pennsylvania since 1995.