A jury has handed down a sentence of death for convicted killer Charles Ray Hicks.
After two days of testimony, a Monroe County jury deliberated his fate for more than 7 hours Tuesday.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the jury asked the judge to legally define "torture." That is the only aggravating circumstance in the case.
They jury had to unanimously agree that the commonwealth has proven torture in order to sentence Charles Hicks to death.
On top of that, they then have to agree the aggravating circumstance trumps any mitigating ones.
Otherwise -- it would be life behind bars.
After years of appeals and weeks of testimony, 40-year-old Charles Hicks walked into the Monroe County Courthouse Tuesday morning, knowing he would soon learn his fate.
The same jury that decided his sentenced, convicted Hicks of first degree murder last week.
Six years after he was charged with killing Deanna Null. Null's remains were found in pieces, stuffed in trash bags and scattered along two highways in Monroe and Lackawanna counties.
The 36-year-old's severed hands were located inside Hicks' home in Tobyhanna.
The sentencing phase of the trial began Monday.
Hicks' mother and sister were among those who took the stand, begging the jury to spare his life.
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