July 2, 2009

ATLANTA (AP) -- A Fulton County jury has sentenced a man to death
for carrying out a contract killing by strangling a young mother
with a vacuum cleaner cord.

The defendant, 52-year-old Clark Cleveland, was convicted last
Friday for the murder of Sparkle Rai nine years ago for $10,000.
The same jury sentenced him to death on Thursday.

The woman's father-in-law, Chiaman Rai, was sentenced in 2008 to
life in prison without the possibility of parole for arranging the
killing. Prosecutors said he wanted her killed because he opposed
his son's marriage.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)