Convicted cop killer sentenced to death | News

Tampa, Florida -- The man convicted of murdering Tampa police officer Mike Roberts in August of 2009 has been sentenced to death.

Just minutes beforehand, Cpl. Roberts' wife Cindy delivered a victim impact statement that stunned the courtroom and brought others to tears.

Court watchers were expecting to perhaps hear hours of testimony from experts explaining why Delgado -- who defense attorneys claim suffers from mental illness -- should have his life spared.

Instead only one person spoke.

"Pure hate and evil. You coward. You murdered my husband in cold blood," said Cindy Roberts, occasionally pointing her finger at Delgado. Other times she looked directly at him.

For four and a half minutes, Roberts delivered a scathing, venomous tirade that she described as two and a half years in the making.

"He was no threat to you. But you intentionally and willfully shot him anyway. Purposely shooting him through the lungs and the heart. I hope when your time comes, that you too would choke on your own blood," she said to Delgado.

Rather than address the court, as is customary, Roberts often aimed her comments directly at Delgado. But she was careful never to mention him by name. She called him a "scumbag," not a person.

"We were given a life sentence. All of us, Mike's family and friends and we did nothing wrong. You should get a more severe penalty," said Roberts.

Roberts says she was nervous when she first started to speak, but felt her husband's presence... looking over her shoulder, reading along with her. And she spoke on his behalf.

"He had no tolerance for cop killers, and thought you should get the death penalty for it," she said.

Roberts then urged the court to do just that - sentence Delgado to death. As long as he was alive, she said, he would remain a threat to the public and to the corrections officers around him.

"This is pure evil and hatred. You should not be here. When you finally leave this world, you can join your father for eternity. You and the devil can dance in the pale moonlight," she said to Delgado.

As the courtroom -- packed with police officers, friends and family -- sat in stunned silence, Judge Emmett Battles ordered Delgado to be fingerprinted. Then moments later, delivered his sentence.

"For the murder of Cpl. Michael Roberts, this court sentences you to be put to death in the manner prescribed by law," said Judge Battles.

For Cindy Roberts, there was no sense of closure. Just another step, she says, in a painful process. She said she would go home tonight and explain to their young son Adam what had happened today: death for the man who'd murdered his father.

"He has asked what will happen to the man that killed Daddy. So tonight, we'll discuss what will happen next."

What's next for Cindy Roberts is the life she and her son face beyond this trial.

Roberts says she was surrounded by her law enforcement family on the day her husband was murdered, has been since then, and that was again the case today.

Their support she says, gives her family strength as they try to move forward.

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