Gary Sampson Headed To Death Row In Indiana After Formal Sentencing

BOSTON (CBS) -- Gary Lee Sampson will go to death row in Indiana after officially being sentenced to death by a Boston judge.

After a federal jury handed down the death sentence decision in January, a federal judge formally issued the sentence on Friday, sending Sampson to death row in Indiana for two 2001 murders. After the judge made the formal sentence, families of Sampson's victims say justice has been served.

"I think he is just a waste of space," Scott McCloskey, son of Sampson victim Philip McCloskey, said. "A waste of breath. Until he's put to death, he can rot in hell and stay in prison for the rest of his life."

Sampson was given life in prison for the murder of McCloskey, and sentenced to death for killing 19-year-old Jonathan Rizzo.

The families embraced outside the courtroom after enduring multiple trials filled with details of their loved ones' murders. Sampson was given a death sentence in 2003, but the decision was overturned in 2011 due to juror misconduct.

That's why the victims' families say they won't feel completely at ease until Sampson is executed.

"I don't think we'll have any real solace until it's carried out," Mike Rizzo, Jonathan's father, said. "I think until that happens we will still be living on the edge, thinking that something else could go wrong."

Sampson will now go to death row in Indiana. Before he left, he yelled an expletive at courtroom prosecutors.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports