BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Four years after he was sentenced to death for the ambush killing of San Antonio Police Detective Benjamin Marconi, Otis McKane returned to a Bexar County courtroom Thursday as the appeals process began.
Thursday’s hearing marks the first step in determining whether McKane’s death sentence will stand. McKane entered the 379th District Court fully shackled.
McKane was convicted of shooting Marconi twice in the head as the officer sat in his patrol car outside police headquarters on Nov. 20, 2016.
Prosecutors described the attack as a calculated ambush. Jurors deliberated just 25 minutes before finding him guilty in 2021.
McKane’s new attorneys argue he was denied a fair trial.
Defense attorney Sarah Brandon said the original trial team failed to fully represent McKane and alleged prosecutors presented false evidence.
“His trial team had a full obligation to present a full portrayal of Mr. McKane’s life, and they did not,” Brandon said in court on Thursday.
Testimony on Thursday included a friend of McKane’s and a forensic psychologist who was not used by the state during the 2021 trial. The psychologist’s analysis reportedly differed from that of the state’s expert.
The hearing is expected to continue into Friday. Judge Ron Rangel will then make a recommendation to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will decide McKane’s next legal steps.
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