NARRATOR: First up we go to Houston, Texas,
for the trial of Terry Thompson.
He's been charged with murder in the death
of 24-year-old John Hernandez.
The incident occurred at this restaurant
when an intoxicated Hernandez, who was here with his wife,
stepped outside the diner.
That's when Thompson pulled up with his daughters
and allegedly saw Hernandez urinating in the parking lot.
Some words were exchanged, and according to Thompson,
Hernandez threw a punch.
In this footage, you can see Thompson in the red shirt
wrestle Hernandez to the ground.
[music playing]
He then puts Hernandez in a chokehold and gets on top of.
Meanwhile, Thompson's wife, Chauna, an off-duty sheriff's
deputy, arrives at the scene.
There's Chauna, holding Hernandez's arm down.
But the much larger Thompson has Hernandez pinned to the ground.
A woman attempts to record the incident,
but bystanders block her view while the struggle
continues in the background.
No, stop!
Just stop.
It's illegal to record.
Just stop.
NARRATOR: Thompson and his wife eventually let him up.
But by then, Hernandez was unconscious.
Realizing how serious the situation had become,
Chauna began to administer CPR on Hernandez.
Paramedics arrived and took him to the hospital.
Three days later, Hernandez died from his injuries.
Both Thompson and his wife were charged with murder
and pled not guilty.
The trial of Terry Thompson ended in a hung jury
as 11 of the 12 jurors voted not guilty.
But since it was a hung jury, the state
tried him a second time.
This time, the prosecution adds new witnesses and digs
into Thompson's past, claiming he was a violent man
with a hot temper who had a history
of assaulting his own children.
They also showed footage of the incident in court,
arguing Thompson used excessive force
and had a defenseless Hernandez in a chokehold
for over three minutes.
At the moment 24-year-old John Hernandez gives up,
at the moment 24-year-old John Fernandez taps out,
and you continue, it's certainly not self-defense.
And it's murder.
NARRATOR: Meanwhile, Thompson's attorney
argued it was self-defense and that Hernandez, who was drunk
the night of the incident, was the true aggressor
and that, according to his own wife,
couldn't handle his alcohol.
He's a mean drunk.
He's a loudmouth.
He's an ass.
Those are her words, not mine.
NARRATOR: After hearing and seeing
all the evidence presented, the jury returned with a verdict.
We, the jury, find the defendant, Terry Brian
Thompson, guilty of murder.
NARRATOR: Before he learns his sentence, which
could be anywhere from two years to life,
Hernandez's wife shows Thompson some sympathy.
Now the terms of Thompson's sentence
are read by Judge Kelly Johnson.
--assess his punishment at confinement
in the Institutional Division at the Texas
Department of criminal justice for 25 years.
NARRATOR: Thompson was sentenced to 25 years in a Texas prison
and won't be eligible for parole until the year 2031,
when he'll be 55 years old.
Thompson did file an appeal with the state, but it was denied.
As for his wife Chauna, she was fired from the sheriff's
office, but the murder charge against her
was dropped as the prosecution believed they did not have
sufficient evidence to convict.