A drifter convicted of killing two Massachusetts men in carjackings in 2001 has been denied his bid to toss the death sentence he received earlier this year.
Gary Lee Sampson was sentenced for a second time to death for the killing of 19-year-old college student Jonathan Rizzo but was given a life sentence for the killing of 69-year-old retiree Philip McCloskey. Sampson was first condemned to die in 2003.
According to court paperwork, the judge wrote in his decision Tuesday that there was evidence permitting jurors to conclude Sampson "intended to kill" Rizzo "from the time they met."
Sampson's lawyers have said he was brain damaged when he carjacked and fatally stabbed Rizzo and McCloskey.
Sampson received a separate life sentence for killing a New Hampshire man.
