Sentencing resumes for ex-Texas officer convicted of murder

DALLAS (AP) — More testimony is expected today during the sentencing of a former police officer who was convicted of murder for shooting into a car filled with black teenagers in suburban Dallas, killing one of them.

In a rare guilty verdict in a police-shooting case, the Dallas County jurors were not swayed by former Balch Springs officer Roy Oliver's claim he was protecting his partner when he fired into the vehicle. His partner told jurors he didn't fear for his life.

Gasps echoed around the courtroom Tuesday as the verdict was read. Relatives of the boy killed, 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, sobbed and hugged prosecutors, waved their hands in the air and proclaimed "Thank you, Jesus!"

Edwards father said he was thankful and that he felt like jumping for joy.

"I just want to say I'm happy, very happy," Odell Edwards said outside the courtroom. He said it's "been a long time" since he felt that way.

The jury, which featured two black members out of 12 jurors and two alternates, later heard Odell Edwards testify his son always had a smile on his face and dreamed of playing football at Alabama.

Oliver was found not guilty on two lesser charges of aggravated assault stemming from the shooting.

He faces between five and 99 years in prison, according to an Edwards family attorney.