BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A man convicted of killing a Brevard County deputy was sentenced to death Friday.
Brandon Bradley, 24, offered an apology for shooting and killing Pill, but Pill's family said the apology was too little, too late.
"I want to say I'm sorry to the family and friends of Deputy Pill," Bradley said in court.
Bradley shot Pill during a traffic stop in 2012 and his apology carried little weight with the judge.
Judge Morgan Reinman called Bradley's actions cold and calculated.
"The bottom line is that the defendant murdered Deputy Barbara Pill in a selfish, foolish, and futile attempt to avoid returning to prison or avoid violating his probation," said Reinman.
Bradley's former girlfriend, Andria Kerchner, testified against Bradley during trial, and there was his own taped confession.
Pill was shot multiple times. Prosecutors called Pill's murder an act of premeditation.
Bradley was on probation at the time of the shooting and fleeing from another crime. Prosecutors argued that Bradley was trying to avoid arrest when he killed Pill, who was performing her duties as a member of law enforcement.
But, Bradley's defense told the jury he had a history of abuse, drug addiction and possible mental impairment. His attorneys maintain life without parole is always an option.
"With 10 of the 12 jurors having recommended a sentence of death and the death being that of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty, it's very unlikely this judge is going to overrule a recommendation of death," said legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.
Additionally, Bradley was sentenced to 15 years for robbery, 15 years for fleeing and eluding, and five years for resisting an officer with violence . The sentences are to run consecutively.
Pill's husband Steven Pill called the sentence justice.
"Now the family can get on with the rest of our lives. Barbara will never be forgotten," he said.