Delaware jury recommends death for Eden Park shooter

 Eden Park after the shooting on July 8, 2012.(John Jankowski/for NewsWorks)

Eden Park after the shooting on July 8, 2012.(John Jankowski/for NewsWorks)

A Delaware jury has recommended the death penalty for convicted killer Otis Phillips.

Concluding the sentencing phase of the trial, it took jurors about three hours to unanimously decide that prosecutors proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Phillip’s calculated actions resulted in the death of Herman Curry and 16-year-old Alexander Kamara.

Prosecutors argued that the men were out for revenge when they shot and killed Curry at Eden Park during a soccer tournament on July 8, 2012. Curry, who was a soccer coach and had organized the event, was targeted because he had witnessed a murder allegedly committed by Otis Phillips in 2008.

Kamara, a soccer player, was killed in the crossfire.

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Last month, the jury found Otis Phillips and 23-year-old Jeffrey Phillips, who are not related, guilty of first degree murder for the death of Curry and manslaughter for the death of Kamara.

The men were given separate sentencing hearings. Opening statements for Jeffrey Phillips’ death penalty hearing will begin next week.

Judge Calvin Scott will use the jury’s recommendation to make the final sentencing decision.

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