After several hours of deliberations, a Somerset County jury handed Paul Kendrick the death penalty following the 2018 killing of SCI Somerset CO Sgt. Mark Baserman.
Deliberations began Thursday morning in the death penalty trial for convicted killer Paul Kendrick.
Before that, testimony continued Thursday morning as the prosecution offered up closing arguments.
Prosecutors talked about how Sgt. Mark Baserman was brutally murdered and that this is “the poster case for the death penalty.”
They mentioned that, even though the defense argued Wednesday that childhood trauma had an effect on Kendrick’s actions, all three of Kendrick’s siblings function well in society.
The prosecution asked the jury to not to make decisions based on rage and hatred toward Kendrick or based on sadness for the death of Baserman.
The defense said in closing arguments that Kendrick was “loopy” and “wasn’t acting like himself” that day, also bringing up his childhood trauma, which they said includes abuse and racism.
They also mentioned that Kendrick was 22 at the time of the deadly assault and said that the brain does not fully develop until age 25.
The defense urged the jury to “not be swayed by the voices of vengeance”, saying Kendrick is “not hopeless” and that “this is a time to punish, but not a time to kill.”