Updated at midnight Thursday with more reaction to Roy Oliver being sentenced to 15 years in prison

A Dallas County jury sentenced Jordan Edwards' killer to prison Wednesday, giving former police officer Roy Oliver 15 years behind bars for shooting the 15-year-old as he left a party last year.

Roy Oliver spent his first night in jail Tuesday and was escorted there again Wednesday after sentencing. (Dallas County Sheriff's Department)

Jurors spent about five hours deciding the fate of the former Balch Springs lawman, who was described as a "killer in blue" during an impassioned closing statement by the Dallas County district attorney.

In the end they rejected the defense argument that it was a crime of passion when Oliver, 38, opened fire on a car full of teens in April 2017, killing Jordan instantly.

In addition to the prison term, the jury assessed a $10,000 fine.

The shooting of the unarmed black teen by a white police officer gave law enforcement critics new justification in their crusade against police brutality.

But Tuesday's murder conviction, after 12 hours of deliberation, came as a surprise to observers and some experts, although they noted the victim's age and innocence set the case apart from other questionable police shootings.

Jordan's parents looked stricken after the verdict was read Wednesday. They said they had hoped Oliver would receive a longer sentence.

"Although we wanted more years, this is a start for us," said Jordan's stepmother, Charmaine Edwards.

District Attorney Faith Johnson told jurors that prosecuting Oliver, whom she labeled a "killer in blue," wasn't a popular decision for her office.

"But it was the right thing to do," she said.

1 / 6Roy Oliver (center), standing with his attorney Miles Brissette, listens to the judge deliver his sentence Wednesday night. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 2 / 6Roy Oliver's wife, Ingrid Llerena (right), sobs Wednesday as her husband (left) is sentenced to 15 years in prison for the murder of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 3 / 6Lead prosecutor Michael Snipes sat stone-faced as Roy Oliver gets sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 4 / 6Charmaine Edwards (right) and her husband, Odell Edwards, listen as their son's killer is sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 5 / 6A sheriff's deputy leads Roy Oliver out of a Dallas courtroom after he was sentenced to prison for murdering 15-year-old Jordan Edwards in April 2017. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 6 / 6Lead prosecutor Michael Snipes and District Attorney Faith Johnson talk to Odell and Charmaine Edwards after their son's killer was sentenced Wednesday. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer)

After the sentencing, Johnson said her team had hoped for a longer sentence, but they were satisfied.

"We are very satisfied with the guilty verdict. We believe that this is historic," she said.

Charmaine Edwards said she expected Oliver to be sentenced to at least 25 years. The shorter sentence will give him a second chance.

"He can actually see life again after 15 years," she said.

Oliver's attorneys have already began the appeals process, saying they believed there were errors made during trial.

Bob Gill and Miles Brissette said part of the appeal will center on language in the murder charge that they believe nullified their defense. That language was not used in the two aggravated assault charges the jurors deliberated on and acquitted Oliver for.

Oliver still has four pending aggravated assault charges: two from the night Jordan was killed, and two from an unrelated road-rage incident two weeks before his death.

The DA's office said they will look at whether to prosecute those cases.

Daryl Washington, the attorney for the Edwards family, said the sentence sends the message that cops are expected to be trustworthy.

"We believe that little boys and little girls are going to be able to go to teenage parties and feel like, if they're in danger, they can go to police officers and not run away from police officers," Washington said after the verdict.

Jordan Edwards' death became the latest rallying cry in the fight against police brutality.

He praised the DA's office for prosecuting the case.

"The Dallas DA's office did something that has not been done around this country. They had the courage to take on a bad police officer," Washington said.

The lead prosecutor, Michael Snipes, said the DA's office didn't treat Oliver any differently because he was in law enforcement. Ultimately, he said, the case was about Jordan.

"It was not about a political statement," Snipes said after the verdict. "It was about a young man that I came to love."

During the punishment phase of the trial, Snipes painted Oliver as a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-like figure, friendly and calm one moment and flying into a rage the next.

"We have to protect society from this Mr. Hyde, the defendant," argued Snipes, who urged the jury to sentence Oliver to no less than 60 years in prison.

1 / 5Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson addresses the jury during the sentencing phase of Roy Oliver's trial. 2 / 5Lead prosecutor Michael Snipes points to defendant Roy Oliver, calling him a "Mr. Hyde" whom the jury needs to lock up.(Rose Baca / Staff Photographer) 3 / 5Judge Brandon Birmingham listens to closing arguments during the punishment phase of Roy Oliver's murder trial. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 4 / 5Defense attorney Bob Gill said Roy Oliver was a decent man who acted on impulse when he fired into a car of teens. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 5 / 5Roy Oliver wipes away tears while his wife testifies during the sentencing phase of his trial. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer)

Oliver's attorneys, on the other hand, sought to portray "the real Roy Oliver," encouraging jurors to give him the minimum sentence: five years.

Gill asked the jury to find that Oliver acted in "sudden passion," a legal stipulation that would shift the punishment from up to life in prison to a range from two to 20 years.

"This happened in a split second while Roy defended his partner," Gill argued. "He didn't know who Jordan Edwards was. He was reacting."

Oliver spent Tuesday night in the Dallas County Jail after being taken into custody following the verdict. On Wednesday, he walked into the courtroom in ankle shackles and a suit.

A parade of defense witnesses took the stand to talk about the Roy Oliver they knew as an upstanding citizen and family man.

Gill told jurors that the day's testimony would show "the real Roy Oliver that everyone loves."

Oliver's wife, Ingrid, said their 3-year-old son was asking about his dad during his first night in jail Tuesday.

"My son is always asking for his daddy," she said through a translator.

She and Tab used to visit Oliver for meals during his shifts.

"He always would want to see his son," she said.

1 / 10Linda Oliver pleads for leniency for her son Roy Oliver on Wednesday during the sentencing phase of his murder trial. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 2 / 10Billie Gorwood, Roy Oliver's landlord, said Roy Oliver is already punishing himself for the life he took. (Rose Baca/Staff Photograper) 3 / 10Balch Springs police officer David Fields testifies about his former colleague Roy Oliver during his murder trial. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 4 / 10Fired Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver lowers his head while his mother testified Wednesday at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 5 / 10Odell Edwards listens to testimony Wednesday about Roy Oliver, the former police officer who killed his son last year. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 6 / 10Roy Oliver glances into the courtroom gallery before trial begins Wednesday at the Dallas County courthouse. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 7 / 10Judge Brandon Birmingham talks to the defense team during the sentencing phase of Roy Oliver's trial. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 8 / 10Wendi Oliver, Roy Oliver's half-sister, called Roy Oliver trash and said she felt sorry for what he did to Jordan Edwards. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 9 / 10Ingrid Llerena, Roy Oliver's wife, cries while testifying about her husband, asking for leniency from the jury. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) 10 / 10M.L. Dorsey, the Edwards' family pastor at True Believers of Christ Community Church, testifies about Jordan Edwards during his killer's trial. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer)

Oliver's mother also took the stand to ask the jury for leniency for the sake of her grandson, who has autism.

"He needs his father's love. He needs his father's income. He needs his father's guidance," Linda Oliver said. "He's a daddy's boy."

She said she knows how hard it is to raise a child alone and wishes for something different for her grandson and daughter-in-law.

"My son was raised with a father in prison," Linda Oliver said. "I know how hard it is to be a single mother."

But Oliver's half-sister took the stand in the afternoon to say the jury shouldn't be lenient.

"I hope he gets what he deserves," testified Wendi Oliver. "And I feel sorry for what he has done to this boy."

Wendi Oliver had reached out to Jordan's mother, Charmaine Edwards, on Facebook. She sat with Jordan's family members during closing arguments and hugged and prayed with them in the hallway.

Family of #JordanEdwards prays after jury begins to deliberate over #RoyOliver punishment. Defense asked for minimum, 2-yr sentence, prosecutors asked for 60 yrs. Family asks God for “no less than 60 years. Father hold them up after all the judicial stuff is over” #RoyOliverTrial pic.twitter.com/C5UP4bbZyU — Naomi Martin (@NaomiMartin) August 29, 2018

Also outside the courtroom, Jordan's biological mother spoke Wednesday about her son and her hopes for the jury.

"Jordan has been given a life in heaven, and I pray Roy Oliver is given a life in prison," said Shaunkeyia Stephens. "It's only fair. It makes it sorta right."

She argued that Oliver had a moment to think, like his partner did, about whether to pull the trigger. Oliver maintains that he was protecting his partner, Tyler Gross, when he shot into the car full of teenagers.

"You have to think," Stephens said. "Mr. Gross, he thought. He didn't fire. He didn't do what Roy Oliver did."