LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The man charged in one of Louisville's most heinous homicides will not be facing the death penalty.
In 2016, Brice Rhodes allegedly killed a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old after police said the teens watched him kill another man. Graphic body cam footage showed the scene where police found the boys' bodies -- stabbed, tortured and burned in an abandoned lot in west Louisville.
Rhodes went on to pick up more charges while in jail, including attempted escape. Jail staff said he tried to dig out a hole in the cinder block, terroristic threatening, and assault on officers. At one point, Rhodes was brought into the courtroom restrained and wearing a face mask after spitting on and attacking officers.
In her ruling on Friday, Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Julie Kaelin said that there is "credible, historical, unbiased evidence" that Rhodes is intellectually disabled and suffers from a "serious mental illness."
If he's convicted later this year, the harshest sentence he will receive is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Court documents say that it is "clear" that there is "ample evidence" that Rhodes is intellectually disabled and has a history of serious mental illness. Documents also show a summary of Rhodes’ IQ tests over the years and that he has tested as high as 90 and as low as 55, so he is "in the realm of intellectually functioning."
"The Court cannot allow such a person to be subject to the death penalty, regardless of public clamor," Kaelin said in her ruling.
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