Arkansas Department of Correction is not a country ...

Jurors have already found Lacy guilty of capital murder and aggravated robbery, a class Y felony, which is punishable with a prison sentence ranging from 10 to 40 years or life in prison. The jury must decide whether Lacy should be sentenced to life in prison without the benefit of parole or to death by lethal injection for killing 47-year-old Randall Walker.

Broderick Laswell, 20, of Farmington is also charged with capital murder and aggravated robbery. His trial will be held at a later date.

Walker's burned body was found Aug. 30, 2007, in the bedroom of his Beaver Hollow Road home.

Jurors heard Lacy's recorded confessions in which he admitted to hitting Walker twice in the head with a fireplace poker. Lacy also admitted to stabbing Walker with the fireplace poker and said Laswell struck Walker with a weight bar. Lacy also said he cut Walker's throat.

Investigators recovered the fireplace poker, the weight bar and a knife blade that prosecutors believe were used to kill Walker.

A medical examiner also testified that Walker was alive when the fire was set.

Benton County Prosecutor Van Stone told jurors in his closing statements that Walker's murder was one of the worst in Benton County, and the death penalty is an appropriate punishment.

Stone reminded jurors that Walker, the father of three and grandfather of eight, had multiple sclerosis and was disabled.

The prosecutor described Walker as a vulnerable victim for his attackers.

"You know (Lacy) began the homicide, and you know he ended it," Stone said.

Stone was referring to the evidence presented during the trial that Lacy struck Walker in the head with the fireplace poker and slit his throat before using gasoline to set a fire in Walker's bedroom.

Four stab wounds in the chest, six impact blows to the head and a slit throat, Stone said as he described Walker's fatal injuries.

"You heard how Randy kept asking, 'Why? Why? Why?'" Stone said.

Stone said Walker screamed and begged for his life. "We don't know how many times," Stone said. "We know it was horrific enough to justify the death penalty."

Walker was slaughtered in his own home, and the value of his life was a gun and $20, the prosecutor said. The jury was presented with evidence that the men stole $20 from Walker's wallet and a .22 pistol, then burned the wallet.

Steve Harper, one of Lacy's attorneys, asked the jury to sentence his client and friend to life in prison without the benefit of parole.

"I have to stand up in front of 13 strangers and beg you not to kill my friend, Brandon," Harper said in his closing statements. "That's my job. It's a little bit distressful."

Harper said he tries not to get emotionally involved with his clients, but he now thinks of Lacy as a grandson after getting to know him and his family.

Harper told jurors that Lacy confessed to setting the fire and even to cutting Walker's throat. Jurors must decide if the crime would have been solved if Lacy had not called police and confessed to the murder, Harper said. Harper told jurors of his belief that Lacy turned himself in because he could not live with himself for his part in Walker's murder. Harper described his client as remorseful for his role in the crime.

According to Harper, the death penalty should be reserved for the worst of the worst, and Lacy does not fall in that category.

Harper asked jurors to sentence Lacy to life in prison without the benefit of parole. Lacy will die one day in prison, but it doesn't have to be by an execution, Harper said.

"The Arkansas Department of Correction is not a country club," Harper said. "Trust me on that."

Harper's final words to jurors were simply, "I ask you not to kill my friend."

Jurors did request to hear the recordings of Lacy's interview with investigators. The other evidence admitted during the trial was also taken into the jury room.

The jury will return this morning and continue its deliberations.

If the jury cannot reach a verdict, the sentencing will become the responsibility of Circuit Judge Robin Green.

However, the jury must recommend or impose the death penalty. That punishment cannot be solely handed down by the judge.

Lacy will automatically be sentenced to life in prison without the benefit of parole if the jury cannot reach a decision on his sentence for capital murder.

Green will impose the sentence for the aggravated robbery if the jury fails to reach a decision.