Adam Ward sentenced to die

By KETR Greenville Correspondent Brad KellarHear Brad's reports Wednesday on 88.9 FM and ketr.org

Greenville, TX –

Adam Ward was sentenced to death by lethal injection Tuesday for the 2005 shooting death of Commerce Code Enforcement Officer Michael Pee Wee Walker.

The Hunt County District Court jury deliberated almost seven hours before returning with the decision, capping an almost three-week trial. The panel received the case Tuesday at about 10:40 a.m. and returned with the verdict at 5:25 p.m. The jury ruled that Ward did present a future danger and that there were no mitigating circumstances to justify Ward receiving a life sentence.

District Judge Richard A. Beacom accepted the jury's findings and sentenced Ward to death by lethal injection. Ward is the first defendant convicted of capital murder in Hunt County to receive the death sentence since 2000.

An automatic appeal of the death penalty will be filed, and a civil lawsuit is yet to be heard. The victim's father has filed a wrongful death suit against Adam Ward and his father.