An online rumor about two murder suspects is the focus of today’s KRIS 6 News Fact Check.
An image of a pair of mug shots, side by side, is circulating on the internet.
The image shows Taymor McIntyre, a 17-year-old arrested in connection to two separate capital murders in Texas. The other mug shot is Dimitrios Pasourtzis, the suspect in last week’s mass shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 8 students and two teachers dead.
The photo shows similarities between the two cases, but claims that McIntyre is facing the death penalty, while Pasourtzis is not, suggesting race is the deciding factor.
Our Fact Check team researched the claims made in the image and has determined it to be false.
Taymor McIntyre is not facing the death penalty.
The capital murder charges against McIntyre were filed when he was a minor, so he cannot face the death penalty.
In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to sentence a person under the age of 18 to death.
