HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — Update: On July 28, 2022, Kayvon Ward was found not guilty of capital murder, but guilty of first degree murder. He has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder charge and aggravated assault of an officer.
Members of the jury in the trial of Kayvon Ward are center stage as they head to deliberation.
This could either take hours or days, both the prosecution and defense told jurors to take their time and to consider all evidence.
Day 4 of the trial began with a focus on the schizophrenia diagnosis of Ward and two separate doctors testified that they saw no signs of mental illness in him.
This came just a day after Dr. Benjamin Silber testified that he gave a provisional diagnosis of schizophrenia to Ward when he first met with him on July 15.
Thursday afternoon was dominated by closing arguments from both sides.
Both the prosecuting attorney Kara Petro and defense attorney Bill James argued that the other made up parts of their arguments in order to convince the jury.
Petro told jurors that "He (Ward) wasn't a victim, the officers were victims," when she described Ward's actions on March 10, 2020, the night Hot Springs Police Officer Brent Scrimshire was shot and killed.
James argued in favor of the jury system, and he said "I believe people will do the hard things when it's the honest thing." As he spoke about Ward's thoughts on March 10, 2020.
"At most, he's playing checkers, he ain't playing chess," James added.
Jury deliberation could take an unknown amount of time.
We will have the latest information for you, no matter when the verdict is announced.