question, if he didn t feel like we had phrased it right, he would rephrase it for us. you need to restate your question and put it into context. i believe that he felt like he was smarter than cameron and i. reporter: did you just wanna smack him? yes. reporter: leon, they argued, didn t care who lived or died in his wake. he did nothing to stop this. in his mind his ex-girlfriend, is sitting by herself in a warehouse somewhere, in this city, zip-tied, with duckttape around her mouth. he thinks he can just walk away from this. reporter: it took the jury all of an hour and 15 minutes to decide leon s fate. we the jury find the defendant, leon phillip jacob, guilty of solicitation of capital murder. reporter: guilty of all charges. and in texas, the jury can also decide punishment. in the penalty phase, prosecutors called a new witness, leon s ex-wife annie. she testified in vivid detail that leon was abusive. what did the defendant tell you? that was my punishment
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samantha knecht and her co-counsel, cameron calligan, knew they had a strong case against leon jacob for solicitation of capital murder, and additionally, for solicitation of kidnapping. they also knew they had a potential problem. as you headed to trial, what was gonna be the cornerstone of your case? the recordings. the recordings. there was no way that he was gonna be able to get himself out of all of the things that he said. reporter: what would you say was the weakest part of your case? well, an aspect of the recordings, as well. the defendant is educated, he s intelligent, he was cautious in his approach to talking to the undercover officer. reporter: that was the problem. in all those recorded conversations leon never said, kill meghan. yet the prosecutors had to prove that s exactly what he meant. reporter: leon jacob does not stop until he gets what he wants. reporter: the trial began on march 20, 2018. the prosecution called the bail bondsman, michael kubosh,
harris county prosecutor harris county prosecutor samantha knecht and her samantha knecht and her co-counsel, cameron calligan, co-counsel, cameron calligan, knew they had a strong case knew they had a strong case against leon jacob for against leon jacob for solicitation of capital murder, solicitation of capital murder, and additionally, for and additionally, for solicitation of kidnapping. solicitation of kidnapping. they also knew they had a they also knew they had a potential problem. potential problem. as you headed to trial, what was as you headed to trial, what was gonna be the cornerstone of your case? the recordings. the recording the recordings. the recordings. there was no way that he was there was no way that he was gonna be able to get himself out gonna be able to get himself out of all of the things that he of all of the things that he said. said. reporter: what would you say reporter: what would you say was the weakest part of your was the weakest part of
prosecutors, for leon to have mack killed. mack and maybe even the courts may get involved, are gonna make valerie choose between her daughter and the defendant, she s gonna choose her daughter. reporter: mack recounted the emotional moment when he learned about the murder plot. that if they would have been successful, natalie would ve not had any parents. reporter: then it was meghan s turn. no gag or zip ties this time. she told the jury she had no doubt leon wanted her dead. were you scared? very scared. how did that affect how you felt about your safety around the defendant? i was terrified. reporter: defense attorney george parnham said the prosecution had it all wrong. leon didn t want anyone killed. he wasn t suggesting that this be done. reporter: he argued leon was just a love lorn ex-boyfriend, who d gone overboard with big talk. he s braggadocios and, then, backtracks. reporter: you might think reporter: you might think that made him a risky witne