22 April 2015 :

Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Clyde Jones on Monday morning sentenced Jeffery Tyrone Riggs, 45, Black, to life without the possibility of parole for his Feb. 4 conviction on capital murder. The jury at that trial had recommended in an 8-4 decision that Riggs serve a life without parole sentence. Judge Jones on June 14, 2010 (see) had sentenced Riggs to death after Riggs' 1st capital murder conviction, overriding the 1st jury's 10-2 recommendation for life without parole. Riggs was convicted in the Jan. 10, 2008 shooting death of 40-year-old Norber Payne. The couple had been in an on-again-off-again seven-year relationship and had a child together. Riggs, who was married at the time, had been accused of being angry that Payne was seeing another man. Payne and Riggs also were first cousins who were both sexually abused as children, the defense attorneys argued as a mitigating factor. On May 3, 2013, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed Jeffery Riggs's capital murder conviction and death sentence and ordered a new trial because the trial court failed to properly instruct the jury. At Monday's sentencing Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Mike Anderton told Judge Jones that he believed the appropriate sentence was still death, but he still recommended the judge hand down life without parole so everyone in the case a chance to move on.