Jury recommends death for man who admitted to killing couple

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) _ A federal jury sentences a man to death for killing a Hurst, Texas, couple two years ago at a campground in the Ouachita National Forest. <br/><br/>The panel of six men and six

Saturday, July 23rd 2005, 11:50 am

By: News On 6

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) _ A federal jury sentences a man to death for killing a Hurst, Texas, couple two years ago at a campground in the Ouachita National Forest.

The panel of six men and six women deliberated four hours Friday before handing down punishment to 38-year-old Edward Leon Fields Junior.

Fields had pleaded guilty last month to two counts of first-degree murder and other charges, but federal law required a sentencing hearing be conducted.

Fields' attorneys had argued that the former prison guard was mentally ill and showed remorse for killing Charles and Shirley Chick in July 2003.

Prosecutors say Fields stalked the couple before sneaking up on them in camouflage and shooting them. He returned to the scene hours later and stole property including the Chicks' credit cards and cash.

It was the first death penalty case in Oklahoma's eastern federal district since 1993, though that sentence later was modified to life without parole.