In keeping with a jury's recommendation, Circuit Court Judge Charles Graddick sentenced Dennis Hicks to death Monday for murdering and dismembering a man in the presence of children.
Wrapping up a two-hour sentencing hearing for Hicks, Graddick ruled that "there can be only one penalty, and that is the penalty of death."
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Hicks entered Monday's hearing with a list of objections and motions, arguing that the trial should be thrown out on several grounds. His hair now gray, and his voice nervous, he attempted to argue that his alibi hadn't been properly considered, that evidence had been planted and that his attorneys hadn't effectively represented him. "I just don't think they did me right," he said. "I was disinformed and lied to by both my counsel."
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"I'm 100 percent innocent," said Hicks, describing the murder and his prosecution as "a double tragedy."
As he approached his ruling, Graddick said investigators had found that three small children had been present in the residence where Duncan was murdered. Two of them had testified to details confirmed in forensic analysis of his body: That Duncan had been stabbed and disemboweled, and that his head and hands had been cut off.
"It was very horrific," said Wright afterward. "It was horrific we had to put the children on the stand."
Given the opportunity to speak to the court and Duncan's family one last time, Hicks remained defiant.
"Had I been on the jury, I would have found myself guilty, because this is so rigged," he said.
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Dorothy Duncan and other family members did not speak to media after the hearing. But in her own remarks to the court, she said that she planned to push for a law that would require people with violent crimes on their record to notify neighbors, as sex offenders are required to do.