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Lonnie David Franklin Jr., the serial killer behind the brutal "Grim Sleeper" murders, was sentenced to death by a jury Monday, according to the AP. The Los Angeles County jury was tasked with deciding whether Franklin would be put to death, or spend life in prison without the possibility of parole.The 63-year-old former sanitation worker was arrested in July 2010, after terrorizing South L.A. for decades. His long-delayed criminal trial began in mid-February 2016. After nearly three months of testimony, the jury deliberated for less than a day and a half before reaching their verdict, finding Franklin guilty of all charges on May 5.
Franklin was convicted of ten murders and one attempted murder, although it's thought that he might be responsible for far more deaths. He preyed on young black women, many of whom were sex workers. While still unidentified, the killer was dubbed "the Grim Sleeper" by L.A. Weekly because he appeared to take a fourteen-year break between his slayings, pausing from 1988 to 2002.
As of January 1, there were 743 inmates awaiting death in California, more than any other state.
