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Wallace sentenced to life in prisonBy ANTON RIECHEK Regional EditorCOOPER — Former Sulphur Springs dairyman Billy Ray Wallace received an automatic life sentence Thursday when the jury that found Mm guilty in the 1979 capital murder of his wife failed to reach a unanimous decision on punishment.State District Judge Lanny Ramsay closely questioned the jury foreman about the possibility of a verdict being reached with further.. *-■ -i- ■ 1 . deliberation before declaring a hung jury and imposing sentence in the case himself.Wallace, faced with the death penalty, was previously sentenced to life imprisonment in December 1979 after confessing to‘his part in the contract murder of his wife, Janyth Kay Wallace. The-earlier conviction was overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1980.As the jury returned from theirdeliberations shortly before 3 p.m..*«w'Wallace turned and smiled to his family in the courtroom. He showed no emotion at the bench as Ramsay assessed the life sentence.A motion for mistrial entered by defense attorney Jim Vollers immediately before sentencing was overruled by Ramsay. Voller later told The Paris News that how soon an appeal would be filed in the case would depend on “how quickly theSee WALLACE, Pg. 4I (I t „
Newspaper Details
Paris News
Paris, Texas, US
Fri, Dec 11, 1981
Page 19
Full Page
Clipped by
Jared T.
NA, NA 22 Feb 2023
Other Publications Near Paris, Texas
Paris Weekly News
Paris Echo
Paris Red River Valley Shopper
Paris Evening News
Paris News
