Instead of getting a death penalty trial, the man accused of killing two Peach County deputies in 2016 accepted a plea deal on Thursday.
District Attorney David Cooke recommended that Ralph Elrod receive two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus another 100 years.
Thursday’s hearing came around two weeks after District Attorney David Cooke reportedly told the Sondron family he would be seeking a plea deal rather than the death penalty.
Not everyone was happy with the outcome.
Some family members of the victims were happy with the plea deal, while others wanted the case to go to a trial, with the death penalty on the table.
With high-profile cases like these, 13WMAZ wanted to understand why people involved get plea deals instead of the death penalty.
Cooke made it known why the death penalty was off the table for Elrod after killing two deputies. Cooke said he spoke to the deputies' families.
"Everyone in the room was interested in a plea agreement, now it wasn't unanimous but it was a substantial amount and I was thrown for a loop," said Cooke.
Cooke says after the initial shock, he made sure they knew the process for a death verdict and a plea deal.
"In particular, to hear a mom say 'I think a trial would kill me' and because I'd had that experience before," said Cooke.
From there, Cooke says he knew which direction to go.
Over at Mercer University's Walter F. George School of Law, Professor David Oedel explains why he thinks a plea deal was considered at all.
"It's an advantage for both sides. Everyone understands it as being useful to avoid a trial. There's certainty in it," said Oedel.
Oedel says the entire trial process could be costly for everyone, but in a case where two deputies are killed is different.
"You would think it's a pretty strong case for the death penalty yet, D.A. Cooke did not seek it," said Oedel.
Oedel says a plea bargain does save a lot of time, so family members can forward, but there is a down side.
"We want to protect our police, and they didn't get protected in this situation, and we have to send a message for thought about the death penalty," said Oedel.
Cooke says it's all about the families of Patrick Sondron and Daryl Smallwood.
According to Cooke, Georgia district attorneys have sought the death penalty 300 times in the past, but he only knew 13 cases that made it to the death verdict.