 In 2005, Brownlee charged Simmons with two counts of using a firearm during the commission of the violent crime of interstate stalking, made criminal by the 1996 Violence Against Women Act.After a 2-week trial in February 2005, the jury convicted Simmons of the two murders but was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty.Simmons was immediately sentenced by the trial court to life in prison without the possibility of parole.