Ark. Jury Gives Anchor Killer Life in Jail

Curtis Lavelle Vance, 29, Avoids Death Penalty in Brutal Slaying of TV Personality Anne Pressly

(CBS/AP)  Anne Pressly's mother approached defense attorneys moments after jurors spared the life of the Arkansas man convicted of killing her daughter in an attack so brutal that it left the television anchor's face shattered and unrecognizable.

She leaned in and said softly, "You protected someone who should have never been protected."

Curtis Lavelle Vance, 29, escaped a death sentence and instead faces life in prison without parole for the rape, robbery and slaying of Pressly. The 26-yera-old was an anchor on KATV's "Daybreak" program and appeared briefly in Oliver Stone's President George W. Bush biopic "W."

Pressly was attacked inside her Little Rock home Oct. 20, 2008. She never regained consciousness and died five days later. Prosecutors said Vance told police he went to her neighborhood looking to steal laptop computers.

Pressly's best friend, Melissa Dunbar-Gates, of CBS affiliate KTHV-TV, was with her during her last hours of life and was at the trial every day. She told "Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez Thursday that she and Pressly's family, "absolutely want the maximum (sentence) under this (situation) here in Arkansas, which is the death penalty. The other option is life without parole, and, honestly - either one. I just know he's behind bars. He's never going to hit the streets again. He's never gonna prey on another woman, and that Anne stopped him. Because she fought (Vance, hard, during the attack), she stopped him."

Vance's attorneys painted a picture of an emotionally disturbed man with a rocky upbringing by an abusive mother who was addicted to crack cocaine.

Jurors deliberated less than three hours Thursday before recommending that Vance be sentenced to life in prison without parole. They also handed down a life sentence for rape, 20 years for burglary and 10 years for theft.

Vance's mother testified Thursday that she was abusive, and a doctor said Vance showed signs of paranoia. Pressly's mother, Patti Cannady, told jurors Wednesday what it was like to lose an only child.

After the verdict was read, Cannady mouthed "It's OK" to prosecutor Larry Jegley, nodded, and tucked her hands over her heart.

A native of South Carolina, Pressly was a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.

Vance, who had appeared uncomfortable during much of his mother's testimony, showed no emotion as the sentence was read.

Jacqueline Vance Burnett had told jurors she was an abusive mother who had a number of crack-fueled run-ins with the law.

Burnett said she worked as a prostitute to earn money for drugs and once snapped after a "date" fell through. She said Vance had been left in charge of a younger brother and that when she returned, the brother was smearing feces on a wall. Burnett said she threw Vance into a brick wall several times until he nearly passed out.

She also told jurors she would buy drugs with money her children received from Social Security after their fathers died and that she had spent time in prison for burglary, forgery and theft.

Burnett said she has since gone through rehab, and she apologized to Vance from the witness stand for throwing him against the wall. He mumbled something, then said "I love you, momma."

During closing arguments, prosecutor Larry Jegley called Vance's upbringing "an American tragedy," but he noted that siblings and other family members have led successful lives. He said Vance's situation was a result of his own choices.

"Do I like it? No," Jegley said after the sentence was read. "But they can consider all of them. That's the law."

Defense lawyer Katherine Streett had urged jurors - who had convicted Vance a day earlier of capital murder, rape, burglary and theft of property - to have the "courage" to not impose the death penalty.

"The decision you're about to make may speak as much about you as it does about Curtis Vance," Streett said. "If mitigation in this case ... has any meaning to you in a significant way, you do not have to kill him."

Vance's attorneys did not comment after the sentence.

Another brother, B.J. Montgomery of Little Rock, testified that Vance played with him, made sure he did his homework and protected him from their mother. At times Vance would cook for the rest of the family, Montgomery said. "That's my brother, and I love him," he said.

Vance's girlfriend, Sheanika Cooper, said he often spoiled their three children, two girls and a boy.

A psychiatrist had told jurors Vance showed signs of paranoia and compared the man's brain to a car with bad wiring.

"Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't," said Dr. Shawn Agharkar, who teaches at Morehouse and Emory universities.

[linfinster]

we'll be opening our wallet for this waste of flesh for years to come. From keeping him in prison for life at an avg of, I believe, $25,000.00 a year to probably welfare benefits for his family. Great, just great!

[askagain]

How a jury could give this guy anything but the death benefit is beyond logic. This guy is sub-human and will probably live for many years. His victim was not only brutally murdered, she was deprived of many years of what might have been a wonderful life. It makes no sense.

[Omnivorous]

This was a racist hate crime given the details of the case.

I guess we should be satisfied the jury didn't let him go like OJ.

[jackp32]

Lawyers everywhere will get a copy of the mother's testimony and use it in future death penalty cases. If such poppycock can work once it can work again. How did the prosecution allow 12 losers to serve on a jury?

[Virgil-1]

A speeding ticket may get you the death penalty!

[Virgil-1]

That's more than he gave her!

[battleroaron]

how can he have not gotten the death penalty. so what exactly must a person do in arkansas to get the death penalty. evidently you must have to do something severely nefarious, purely consistant with evil, not having value of life, or liberty. oh wait this was a severely nefarious crime with no value of human life or liberty! hmmm... something is very wrong with this picture. if a crime like this doesn't constitute the death penalty, than i have to suggest that arkansas refuses to give the death penalty to people whom, without a doubt, deserve it. People of this broken set of values, norms, and mores have no place in our society and should be removed. if they refuse to live under the social contract we assume then they should not be allowed to live among us in our society (prisoners are still among us and we still people compliant with our social contract having to deal with them). with this said; the value of the lives of these killers and such are less valuable to me than that of the swine flu bacteria i kill daily with my purell anti-bacterial gel! i can only value your life if you value life in general.... i can only hope the general population at whatever prison this loser ends up at is less forgiving than the state of ARKANSAS. i was abused, my mommy was a crack head, i'm a schizophrenic paranoid delusionist ,enough already..... you are who you want to be , everyday of your life you chose yourself. this is what he chose to be....he had shown NO MERCY for ANNE PRESSLY. how could anyone show mercy for this less than a dog of a person.

[chitown639]

This is great news this guy deserves to spend the rest of his life rotting in a cage.

[Sloughfoot]

He'll be out in 15. Rot in jail - They have it made - They have their buds and the status of killing a "white *****". these animals think on a didferent plane then civilized folk and as long as you'll want to warehouse them, they'll take what they can get.

[Thalia-9]

it's life w/out parole so he won't be out in 15...the fact that his defense actually called his crackwh*re mother to the stand to claim 'she's' responsible for his actions is sick -

BATTLEROARON is dead on right - we have independent choice over our actions - Poor Anne Pressly was a productive member of society making the right decisions and he took that away from her, her family and friends - maybe he'll be raped in prison

[2012EOD]

Riddle me this Batman, if this woman were black and this guy white, would Rev. Al and Jessie be down there right now. How come those two don't care about the rights and lifes of whites?

[chitown639]

2012EOD,
Everything always comes down to race for a lot of people, apparently including yourself......

[budfrank1]

A likely case of OJ, lite, or, affirmative action as applied to the "justice" system.

[nowhiningallowed]

His picture sums up what he's all about.

[PaGuy1960]

what a sham

[scabbard2]

So apparently the jury felt that the victim, Anne Pressly, was at fault and gave their homes a ride.

[bubbadubba]

He might get free and murder and rape one of their children or relatives.
It's called Karma.
If someone who rapes and murders a young woman in their own home does not get the death penalty America is doomed.
As for the defense attorney, a curse on him.

[longtree-2009]

he should have been sentenced to death. there is no justice. the criminal justice system and jurors always forget the victim(s). the jurors should be ashamed of themselves. in a way, the jurors are aiding and abetting the criminal, the crime, and criminals in general across these united states.

[jdhiland]

If there was ever a case for the death penalty, this was it.
The lawyers did their jobs....the jurors did not.
Hopefully....God will toss this man's soul into eternal hell so it may never walk the Earth again.
Perhaps the jurors might have felt differently if THEY were to individually pay for his life long incarceration.

[Sloughfoot]

Disagree with your first sentence, the is a case developing in TX - Ft Hood that if and when convicted the perpetrater will deserve the death penalty - Watch as the Race and religion cards are tossed about here. It'll look like 52 card pickup. **** these are already being played by the media running reports that the victums deserved to die becasue somebody may have called him a camel jockey.