ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) -
A jury has determined that Tommie Lee Andrews, convicted of two brutal rapes back in 1987, must go to a facility for sexual offenders.
Andrews, 49, was supposed to spend 100 years behind bars, but has only served a quarter of that time. This week, he represented himself in a civil-commitment trial that was to determine whether he would be released or receive treatment.
Two victims took the stand on Wednesday to tell their stories two decades later. One told the jurors, "I was awoken with someone on top of me." She told the jurors she thought it was her friend who was drunk, passed out in her car outside until he told her otherwise.
"He said, I am not who you think I am, and if you say another word, I will kill you. I will slit your throat," she told the jury.
For the second day in a row, Andrews cross examined witnesses and his victims. Andrews questioned them, saying they could not positively prove he was behind the attacks. One fired back, "It is you! I picked you out!" He asked her, "You picked me out of a live line up?" She answered, "I didn't see a live line up, I said I picked you out of papers."
The wife of Andrews also took the stand to tell the jury that her husband was a kind and caring man. The prosecutor asked Judy Andrews, "Did you know Mr. Andrews when he raped all these women?" She answered, "He didn't rape all those women."
Andrews did not take the stand but did tell jurors in closing arguments, "There is just something wrong with a person does 25 years and then he needs treatment after 25 years. You have to think about that."
The prosecutors said he is still in denial and refuses treatment for his issues. The prosecutor told jurors not to be fooled, saying, "If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, it's a duck."
Andrews is the first defendant in the United States convicted using DNA evidence. He is scheduled to be released at the end of the month.
