Gobert attorney responds to outburst

AUSTIN (KXAN) - After an obscenity-laced tirade in a Travis County courtroom Wednesday night, Milton Gobert's attorney spoke out about his client's state-of-mind. Gobert was sentenced to stabbing death for the 2003 murder of Mel Nina Cotton.

Gobert's lawyer, Leonard Martinez, had advised Gobert not to take the stand in his own defense. However, Gobert ignored Martinez's warnings and took the stand anyway, talking about his alleged abusive childhood and missing father figure.

Martinez thinks Gobert could have beaten the death penalty sentence if he had just listened.

"It really opened up a side of him that I didn't think was a good idea," said Martinez. "And it opened him up to talk about instances that wouldn't have gone in otherwise."

During Gobert's testimony, the prosecution brought up other instances of brutality with women he allegedly committed.

After the death sentence came down, surviving relatives of the victim spoke in court. Cotton's sister, Ethel McPherson was saying that Cotton was "an angel" when Gobert suddenly exploded into a rant. The judge had to instruct the court officials to remove Gobert from the courtroom because he would not stop yelling.

"He was showing people the way his life has been and will continue to be until the day he dies," said McPherson. "He's a very disturbed person."

Gobert's appeal process could take years to play out. Gobert was transferred from the Travis County Jail to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on Thursday evening.