Man in shooting spree sentenced to die

A man who claimed he thought he was attacking space aliens during a two-state shooting rampage that left two people dead was sentenced to death Friday.

Superior Court Judge T. Henley Graves followed a jury's unanimous recommendation in sentencing Allison Lamont Norman to death.

Norman's death sentence is subject to automatic appeal, and executions in Delaware are on hold during legal challenges that claim lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

Norman, 25, was convicted in June of first-degree murder in the death of Jamell Weston, 24, of Laurel, in the April 2005 rampage that stretched from Laurel to Salisbury, Md.

Investigators said Norman shot Weston and two other men in Laurel before driving a stolen car to Salisbury, where he carjacked and killed DaVondale Peters, then shot Carla Green while trying to steal her car, leaving her paralyzed.

Jurors rejected defense arguments that Norman was mentally ill and thought he was protecting children from aliens from outer space when he donned a bulletproof vest, armed himself with a 9mm handgun and started shooting.

The night before the shootings, Norman saw an episode of the "X-Files" and became convinced aliens were after children, according to trial testimony.

Prosecutors attributed Norman's bizarre behavior to chronic drug use, not mental illness.