Wichita ? A man convicted of killing a Harvey County sheriff’s deputy during a shootout last year will not receive the death penalty after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict regarding his sentence.

After about two hours of deliberations Wednesday, jurors announced they could not agree on whether Gregory Moore should be sentenced to death or life in prison, meaning he cannot receive the death penalty. His sentencing date was set for July 21.

Moore shook his lawyer’s hand and thanked him before being led out of the courtroom.

“He was very relieved. … I think this is a verdict he desired for his daughters,” defense attorney Mark Manna said as he waited to talk to jurors.

Earlier Wednesday, Moore told jurors he took “full responsibility” for the April 2005 death of Harvey County Sheriff’s Deputy Kurt Ford, 38, and asked them for their mercy.

“I stand before you today and humbly ask forgiveness,” Moore said in his brief statement.

Moore was convicted June 28 of capital murder, four counts of attempted capital murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping and one count of criminal possession of a firearm in the shootout that followed a domestic violence call at his home.

In his statement Wednesday, Moore acknowledged his actions have hurt others.

“For my daughters’ sake, I plead for your mercy,” Moore told jurors.

Last week, 20-year-old Sarah Moore and her 17-year-old sister, Desirae, had asked jurors to spare their father’s life in emotional testimony that left some jurors in tears.

Charles Snyder, the father of Moore’s dead wife, said he was relieved with the verdict for the sake of his granddaughters.

“Seeing their father not on death row might be easier for them,” he said.

Jurors and family members of the victims declined to talk to reporters after the verdict.

Harvey County Undersheriff Steve Bayless, one of the law enforcement officers Moore was convicted of trying to kill, said after the verdict that he respected the jury’s decision.

“Justice was done in the guilt stage of this trial – that is all we can do. It is out of our control,” Bayless said.

Ford’s death was hard on the small law enforcement agency, he said.

“We are resilient. We are stronger as a family. We have moved on,” Bayless said.

Kansas Atty. Gen. Phill Kline, whose agency prosecuted the case, declined to discuss why the jury split on a decision.

“Jurors, considering sentencing someone to death, they take into consideration everything – including what they can live with themselves,” Kline said.

During closing arguments in the sentencing phase, Manna told jurors, “The easy decision is death. The hard decision would be to let Mr. Moore live.”

Manna maintained Moore had an almost lethal dose of methamphetamine in his system and suffered from a mental illness when he killed Ford. He called Moore a man who “literally lost control of himself in a moment.”