Alabama man sentenced to death for 2018 triple homicide

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala (AP) — An Alabama man convicted of killing a 7-year-old boy and two women has been sentenced to death. A judge handed down the death sentence Monday to Jimmy O’Neal Spencer in accordance with the jury’s decision last month. Spencer was found guilty of capital murder in the 2018 deaths of 65-year-old Martha Dell Reliford; 74-year-old Marie Kitchens Martin and Martin’s great-grandson, 7-year-old Colton Ryan Lee. Marshall County Circuit Judge Tim Riley told Spencer he was “a reason for the death penalty to exist.” Spencer was on parole at the time of the slayings. Politicians have cited Spencer’s case in pushing to make the state’s parole process tougher, and the rate of paroles has dropped sharply since then.