US professor gets life in prison for killing co-workers
Tue Sep 25, 2012 12:27AM GMT

A Harvard-educated biology professor(Amy Bishop) was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Monday after being convicted of shooting colleagues at a faculty meeting, killing three and wounding three others .
The jury deliberated for about 20 minutes before convicting Amy Bishop in the Feb. 2010 shooting rampage at the University of Alabama in Hunstville .
" She is shattered beyond belief," attorney Roy Miller said. Miller said that Bishop has often expressed great remorse to the victims and their families .
Colleagues believed Bishop, who allegedly pulled the gun from her purse to start shooting, was angry that the school had denied her tenure. NBC News
HIGHLIGHTS
On Sept. 11, Bishop pleaded guilty to killing three people and wounding three others. By doing so,she avoided a possible death sentence with the plea and instead faces life imprisonment. NBC News
Investigator Charlie Gray and Professor Debra Moriarty were the only witnesses to testify during the brief trial Monday for Amy Bishop. Bishop already has pleaded guilty toavoid the death penalty, but state law requires a trial because it was a capital charge. CBS News
Moriarty testified that Amy Bishop sat unusually silent during a nearly hour-long faculty meeting in February 2010, during which discussions ran from a spring open house to plans for the following fall.CBS News
Moriarity said she glanced down at apiece of paper on the table. "And there was a loud bang," she said. CBS News
Moriarity added that more shots followed in quick succession without Bishop ever saying a word. Moriarity said she was looking directly at Bishop when she shot Professor Maria Ragland Davis, who was killed instantly while still seated at the table. CBS News
Moriarity dove under the table for safety and tried to grab Bishop's legs, but the woman stepped out of her grasp. "I was saying, Stop Amy, stop. Don't do this. I've helped you before, I'll help you again." telegraph.co.uk
She added Bishop pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. She said Bishop continued trying to shoot her in a hall outside but the gun had jammed. telegraph.co.uk
Moriarity said she stepped back into the room alone, slammed the door and saw colleagues bleeding and dying all around her. She described a coworker using napkins to try to stop bleeding from the head of Joseph Leahy, who survived and was in the courtroom. kentucky.com