Long sentenced to death
03:56 PM CDT on Friday, October 13, 2006
By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News
Jurors in Steven Long�s capital murder trial deliberated less than an hour Friday before sentencing the convicted child killer to death for the May 2005 sexual assault and strangulation death of an 11-year-old Dallas girl.
Mr. Long showed no visible reaction as he was led out of the courtroom following District Judge Keith Dean�s parting words: "Mr. Long, may God have mercy on your soul."
Jurors in the two-week trial heard graphic details of Kaitlyn Briana Smith�s final moments inside mobile home trailer in far southeast Dallas. In his confession to police, Mr. Long admitted to beating and sexually assaulting the girl before strangling her and dumping her battered body underneath a vacant trailer nearby.
Jurors said it did not take long to reach their death sentence because they were unanimous to start with in their belief that Mr. Long posed a threat to society even if he were locked away in prison for life and that none of the many hardships in his background warranted that he be given a life sentence instead.
"It was horrific," one sobbing juror said as he left the courtroom.
Lead Prosecutor Andy Beach said the level of violence that Mr. Long unleashed on the child made the jury�s decision easy.
"Kaitlyn�s body was all the evidence they needed," Mr. Beach said. "This is one of those crimes - if you do it, you�ve crossed the line and you�re going to pay.��