Woman’s Murderer Sentenced to Death
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A Palmdale man was sentenced Thursday to die in the gas chamber for killing a woman he raped and beat before setting her bed on fire.
Lancaster Superior Court Judge Margaret Grignon ruled that James Scott, 26, should be executed because the murder of Wanda Jensen met the standards required for the death penalty. Evidence showed the murder took place during a planned burglary and rape in 1986, that Scott used a dangerous weapon and that he intended to kill Jensen when he set fire to her bed and left her unconscious, Grignon said.
Grignon also cited Scott’s previous felony convictions for rape and assault with a deadly weapon as aggravating factors.
It was the first death sentence handed down in an Antelope Valley courtroom, court officials said. The sentence will be automatically appealed to the state Supreme Court.
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