Sedrick Clayton, 31, was sentenced to death Sunday in the grisly murder of his girlfriend and her parents in Memphis two years ago.
Pashea Fisher, 23, and her parents, Arithio and Patricia Fisher, were gunned down at the Fishers' home in January 2012 after Clayton and his girlfriend had an argument.
According to court records, Clayton accused Pashea of cheating on him, and they began fighting. Her parents intervened, and Clayton shot them both before killing Pashea. In a 911 audio recording, Pashea can be heard begging her boyfriend not to kill her parents. He fired 12 shots in total.
Clayton and Pashea's four-year-old daughter, Joydin, can also be heard screaming and crying on the 911 call. She testified during the trial that she saw her father kill her mother and grandparents.
Clayton's attorney, Gerald Skahan argued that the shooting was not premeditated, and that he feared for his life after Arithio kicked him in the chest. He also asked that Clayton's life be spared because he had no prior criminal record. Clayton also offered to plead guilty in exchange for three life sentences without the chance of parole. Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich rejected the plea deal.
Prosecutor Jennifer Nichols defined "mass murder" as the murder of three or more people in a single incident, or during a 48-month time frame. She told jurors that Clayton qualifies as a mass murderer, and deserved to die.
Jurors could have given the man death, life with a chance of parole, or life without the chance of parole.
Although Nichols believes they made the right decision, she said that the entire tragedy could have been avoided.
"Three wonderful people lost their life in a single morning for absolutely no reason," she told the court. "He could have left [the house] at any time. He chose not to."
