Yahoo! News - Eyewitness Helps Convict Serial Killer
PONTIAC, Mich. - Their gaze was frozen for mere seconds all those years ago, in a dimly lit alley, at a distance two men might keep were they having a game of catch. But it was seared into Joseph Foy's memory: the face of a serial killer.

"I always see his eyes," Foy said.

Foy's remarkable recall of the 1979 encounter — demonstrated by a sketch he helped an artist create and his immediate recognition of the suspect 2 1/2 years later in TV footage — was the only direct evidence linking Coral Eugene Watts to the killing for which he was convicted Wednesday.

Watts, who was scheduled for release in 2006 by way of a legal technicality, was convicted for the slaying of 36-year-old Helen Dutcher. He now faces life behind bars without parole.

Watts had been apprehended while attempting to kill two women in their apartment. He pleaded guilty to burglary with intent to commit murder and helped authorities solve a string of killings. In exchange, he was given immunity in 12 killings. (Ed note: This was in Texas)

Though many considered the 60-year sentence inadequate, Watts was expected to be in his 80s if he lived to see freedom. Oakland County prosecutors decided it wasn't worth pursuing a murder conviction in the Dutcher case.

However, mandatory release laws and an appeals court ruling lopped more than 35 years off his sentence — and he was due for release in April 2006.

Glad this guy is going to remain locked up. What the hell is wrong with Texas, anyway? Seems like they either execute people or turn them loose.