A 19-year-old man convicted of causing his girlfriend to miscarry twins by stepping on her stomach received an automatic life sentence.
Gerardo Flores was convicted Monday in Lufkin of two counts of capital murder. He was prosecuted under the state's new fetal protection law.
Erica Basoria said she asked Flores to help end her pregnancy, but the 17-year-old can't be prosecuted because of her legal right to abortion.
The defense contended that Basoria punched herself while Flores was stepping on her, making it impossible to tell who killed the twins in May of 2004.
Flores did not testify.
He admitted in a taped statement to police that he stepped on Basoria's stomach several times the week before she miscarried two boys. He said he punched her during a fight hours before the delivery.
