His half-sister testified against him, and the Dallas County district attorney called him 'a killer in blue.' Jurors are now deliberating a sentence for Oliver, who was found guilty in the murder of unarmed teen Jordan Edwards. Roy Oliver's half-sister testified against him on Wednesday, saying she hopes he "get what he deserves" for killing unarmed teen Jordan Edwards. Wendi Oliver was the second-to-last witness to take the stand before testimony in the sentencing phase wrapped up Wednesday afternoon. After closing arguments – with District Attorney Faith Johnson speaking for the prosecution and calling Oliver a "killer in blue" – jurors began deliberating Roy Oliver's fate about 4 p.m. The former police officer faces up to life in prison after the jury on Tuesday found him guilty of murder in Edwards' shooting death in April 2017. The sentencing phase of the trial began Tuesday afternoon and featured several emotional witnesses, including Edwards' parents and football coach and then Oliver's mother and wife on Wednesday. Oliver's half-sister, Wendi Oliver, gave a short testimony against her brother, saying she had reached out to Edwards' mother on Facebook, telling her she hoped Roy Oliver would get life in prison. She also described her half-brother as "trash." "I hope he gets what he deserves because he took an innocent life," Wendi Oliver said. During cross-examination, Wendi Oliver admitted that she does not speak to her brother and does not know him well. She did not a recognize a photo of her brother's wife that attorneys had presented. Here are some more key moments from the sentencing phase: Oliver was 'a killer in blue,' DA says Johnson delivered the closing argument for the prosecution, asking the jury for an appropriate punishment for Oliver, whom she described as a "killer in blue." "When we call 911, the dispatcher, never in a million years do we think that what's going to be sent out there is a killer in blue to kill our child," Johnson told the jury. "But on April 29, [2017], a 911 dispatcher, unknowing to her, sent a Roy Oliver, a man -- a killer in blue -- to kill Jordan Edwards." 'Consider his son,' Oliver's mother pleads Roy Oliver's mother, Linda Oliver, testified Wednesday morning, pleading with the jury for a minimum sentence of five years in prison. Through tears, Linda Oliver said her young grandson, who has autism, would need his father in his life. "I am asking you to take into consideration several things," she said. "First, he's a wonderful father. Next, I would ask you -- he's a good person. Next, I would ask you to consider [his wife], of course. I would throw myself in there, too. But consider his son. My son was raised with a father in prison, and deservedly so...I know how hard it is to be a single mother." Oliver's mother to Edwards' parents: 'We're both living our own version of hell' Prosecutors asked Oliver's mother if she felt that Oliver stripped Jordan Edwards' parents of the right to become grandparents one day. "I would agree that they've been stripped of the privilege," she said. "I would agree with that. But did my son strip them? I think it was an awful set of circumstances that stripped them." When prosecutors brought up that Edwards' parents would never to get to their son again – and that Oliver's family would still get to see him in prison – Linda Oliver said, "I think we're both living our own version of hell." Oliver 'never sad or violent or mean,' wife testifies Ingrid Llerena, Oliver's wife, gave an emotional testimony, at one point having to leave the courtroom for several minutes to compose herself. Llerena cried while talking about Oliver's relationship with his young son, saying he was always happy around the young boy. Edwards' death 'a constant reminder' for teammates Several teachers from Mesquite High School, where Edwards attended, testified Tuesday that Edwards had a bright future. Mesquite football coach Jeff Fleener broke down while describing how Edwards' locker remains untouched in the team's locker room.<doc-sep>Guests from the party had spilled into the street and were running from the shots — which police later determined to have come from gang members firing into the air. The 15-year-old Edwards and several friends were trying to leave in a Chevrolet Impala driven by his stepbrother, Vidal Allen, but were blocked by the officers’ vehicles. Allen was forced to back up, and as he did, Gross attempted to stop the car.<doc-sep>
Roy Oliver was convicted Tuesday for the murder of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. Yesterday, the now former Balch Springs police officer was sentenced to 15 years in prison. More than likely, he’ll do half that. And so a bit of the relief — I don’t know if anyone would go so far as to call it joy — at Oliver’s conviction is now cut through with the shrugging cynicism of “of course he only got 15 years.” It’s within eyesight of justice, but it is not justice. Not yet. Not until people like Oliver are convicted regularly — in Dallas County, for example, there have only been two convictions since 1973 — and then sentenced accordingly. Even if Oliver does all 15 years (he won’t), at best you can say, “Well, it’s a start.” And that is only if it actually turns out to be a start. Jordan was an extraordinary victim, impossible to besmirch in the usual ways, with out-of-context social media posts and conflation of tiny offenses into something deserving of death. What happens when it’s an unarmed 15-year-old who, say, once got into a couple of fights at school and liked to quote Gucci Mane songs on his Instagram stories? Can we convict the cop in that case? Can we do it again? There are too many Trayvon Martins and Tamir Rices to be happy with this now. When Oliver gets out, his 3-year-old son will likely be younger than Jordan Edwards was when he was murdered. Oliver won’t have the life he had, but he’ll still have a life. The sentence is better than it could have been — the defense was asking for two years, and that would have been like he wasn’t even convicted — but it is not enough. Charmaine and Odell Edwards deserved better. Jordan deserved better.