Death Sentence Upheld For Killer Of 2 Teen Girls

A divided Ohio Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a man who killed two teenage girls in Cincinnati despite what the court called improper remarks by a prosecutor arguing for death. A jury convicted Anthony Kirkland in 2010 of aggravated murder, attempted rape and other charges in the 2006 death of 14-year-old Casonya Crawford and the 2009 death of 13-year-old Esme Kenney, both Cincinnati teenagers. Before his trial began Kirkland also pleaded guilty to the slayings of two women. The court's 4-3 decision Tuesday rejected arguments by attorneys for Kirkland that the prosecutor's remarks - which included implying that without a death sentence the girls' deaths would go unpunished - inflamed the jury to the point he should have been resentenced.