Guilty. That one word sets Michael Scott down a path that can only lead to life in prison or Texas’ death chamber.
The same nine women and three men who returned that verdict on Sunday will now prepare for a second trial – the penalty phase. Ultimately, they will answer questions that will determine whether Scott lives or dies for killing 13-year-old Amy Ayers on Dec. 6, 1991, in a North Austin “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!” shop. Eliza Thomas and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison were also killed that night.
The courtroom was quiet and motionless at 3:15 p.m. as the bailiff handed the verdict to the judge. The jury took a break before telling the bailiffs they had reached a verdict.
“We, the jury, find the defendant, Michael Scott guilty of the offense of capital murder,” read Judge Mike Lynch.
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Scott found guilty
Heather Maze has this report.
 
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At the request of the defense, jurors were polled. All 12 affirmed the verdict individually.
Upon reading of the verdict Barbara Ayres Wilson, mother of the Harbison sisters, and Pamela Ayers, mother of Amy Ayers, both began to cry. Jeannine Scott, wife of the defendant sat stoic and somewhat shocked.
After the jury and judge had left the courtroom, Mrs. Scott broke down crying holding her head in her hands. Her mother comforted her.
The verdict was an emotional one for the family of the victims. They gathered in the courtroom and hugged each other and the detectives who took Scott’s confession.
James Thomas, Eliza’s father, and Pamela Ayers hugged. Maria Thomas, Eliza’s mother, hugged the grandmother of the Harbison girls. “One more down,” said someone on the victims’ side of the courtroom.
Mrs. Scott gave a statement just outside of the courtroom.
“Well the State of Texas has just succeeded in sentencing another innocent man … God, I only hope that the jury has enough sense to realize it’s not worth his life,” she said.
She spoke to reporters at in impromptu press conference outside of the courthouse.
“His voice told a lot but they couldn’t see his face to see the rest of the story,” she said of her husband’s confession.
“But the fight starts now. It ain’t over today just because they’ve convicted him. He’s innocent and I’m going to fight every day to bring him home,” she said.
“I am very angry” she said. She was not upset with the jurors but with the system, she said.
Mrs. Scott was not sure if she was going to testify during the punishment phase of the trial but that said she would do whatever was necessary. She also said she was not sure when she would be able to talk to her husband again.
As things were winding down, Reese Price, the former manager of the yogurt shop, who now works at the courthouse, came in. She found Bob Ayers, Amy’s father, on his cell phone calling people to tell them about the verdict. Price and Mr. Ayers shared a hug and a few minutes of conversation. During her testimony, Price referred to the four slain girls as "my girls."
The central pieces of evidence in this case were Scott’s eight-page written confession and 20 hours of audio and videotapes of Scott confessing to police. Those items, out of 700, were the first things jurors requested to see.
During testimony, the prosecution wanted to convince jurors that Scott’s confession was given voluntarily. Defense lawyers tried to show a pattern of coercion through interrogation techniques.
Jim Raup, an alternate juror who was dismissed on Friday, said he would have voted guilty too – based on Scott’s confession.
“The guilt innocence [phase] is, ‘Did he do the crime.’ And I felt like he did. I thought there was no question that he did,” Raup said. He also said the defense’s theory about the backdoor was a “red herring.”
Neither did he accept the coercion defense.
“I did not buy the manipulations or suggestions at all,” Raup said.
Before reaching their verdict the jury had to decide whether Scott’s confession was coerced.
There is no physical evidence connecting Scott to the crime scene – only his words, matched with the words of Robert Springsteen IV who was convicted and sentenced to death for his role in the crime.
The punishment phase, a completely different trial, with the same jury, begins on Monday at 10 a.m. The defense team had prepared for the worst and is ready to present their case.
