Published: July 03, 2009 11:04 am      

Man condemned a second time in Dallas slaying

DALLAS (AP) — A man has been sentenced to death for a second time in the 1989 slaying of an 81-year-old Dallas woman.

Mark Robertson, who was sentenced Thursday, had won a second sentencing hearing after a federal appellate court ruled that his original Dallas County jury had been given confusing instructions on how to consider his punishment. The instructions involved the jury’s consideration of mitigating factors, including a defendant’s abusive childhood.

Robertson shot Edna Brau between the eyes in 1989 as she slept on the couch. He then stole her Cadillac and drove to Las Vegas, where he was arrested.

He was already serving two life sentences for killing her grandson, Sean Hill, while they were fishing, and convenience store clerk Jeffrey Saunders.

Brau’s son, John Brau, told The Dallas Morning News after the verdict that Robertson was a “cancer to humanity” who has only cared about himself.

“It’s been 18 years between the first trial and this trial. The only difference is he’s 18 years older,” Brau said outside a Dallas County courtroom. “The jury saw the truth: He’s still a sociopath.”

After the verdict, Robertson’s sister, Denise Breedlove, could only cry. She said in an e-mail to the newspaper that she would continue supporting her brother. “My heart is broken (by)... the jury’s decision,” she said.

Defense attorneys argued that because of Robertson’s upbringing and drug use, he should have been sentenced to life in prison.

Robertson was not abused, but watched as his father beat and terrorized his siblings, according to testimony.

But Dallas County prosecutors said that Robertson’s crimes and his potential to commit future violence mean he should get a death sentence.