Deliberations Begin In Babysitter Murder Trial
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Closing arguments wrapped up on Tuesday morning in a Dallas County capital murder trial, putting the case in the hands of the jury. Franklin Davis admitted to killing his teenage babysitter, but his attorneys argued that he does not deserve the death penalty.
Davis took the witness stand on Monday during his trial. He said that he is remorseful about everything that happened. But prosecutors argued that Davis is manipulative, and that the victim was an easy target.
"You've got to understand the type of person Franklin Davis is," said prosecutor Russell Wilson, "crying and lying at the same time."
Shania Gray was set to testify against Davis when the 16-year-old was murdered in September of last year. During that time, Davis was awaiting his trial on four counts of sexual assault of a child. Now, on the witness stand in his murder trial, Davis denied ever having sex with Gray. He did admit to killing her, however.
Davis apologized for the murder, but testified that he did it because the victim had ruined his life. "The revenge, the hate I had for her," he said on the witness stand. "She lied. She ruined my life. She took everything from me, everything I work so hard to get. She took it."
If the jury convicts Davis of murder, prosecutors have said that they will seek the death penalty. The prosecution said that Davis tried to obstruct the sexual assault case that was about to go to trial.
"The difference between murder and capital murder," explained defense attorney Phillip Hayes, "is they have to prove the mental state. We don't have to prove anything. The state has to prove the mental state of Franklin Davis and why he did it, prove a motive. And they chose to pick obstruction."
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