Talladega murder conviction

Eric Payne

A Talladega County jury of eight men and four women deliberated for about three hours Thursday before convicting 23 year old  Eric Payne,  of Talladega, of intentional murder.

Payne was indicted for capital murder for the June 2013 death of his 8-month-old daughter, Jalea.

The aggravating circumstance that made the capital murder charge possible in this case was that the victim was less than 14 years old. The jury, however, voted to convict Payne of the lesser included crime of intentional murder.

According to District Attorney Steve Giddens, the state was not seeking the death penalty in this case.

If convicted of capital murder, Payne would have faced a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. As it is, he is now facing 10 to 99 years or life in prison with the possibility of parole.

He will be formally sentenced by Circuit Judge Bo Hollingsworth in November.