Serial killer Anthony Kirkland's attorney Rich Wendel told jurors his client was physically, sexually and mentally abused as a child, resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder that left him at times unaware of what he was doing.
And then Wendell asked jurors to recommend a life prison sentence, instead of the death penalty for raping and killing teenagers Casonya Crawford, 14 and Esme Kenney, 13.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters countered that argument "was a joke."
"The human carnage he committed is almost unimaginable," Deters said. "If you compare it to mitigating factors, it's not even a close call."
Jurors agreed.
After deliberating for just 2.5 hours, the six-men, six-women jury recommended the death penalty. It's now up to Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Dinkelacker to impose a sentence.