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Talia Williams in Orangeburg
Jurors completed the first full day of deliberations to decide whether a former Hawaii soldier is sentenced to death.
The jury is tasked with determining whether Naeem Williams receives the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of release for the 2005 murder of his 5-year-old daughter.
Jurors left for the day without reaching a decision on Thursday. They will resume deliberations on Friday morning.
Williams says he beat his daughter Talia often to discipline her for bathroom accidents.
During deliberations, they must weigh factors for and against a death sentence.
The defense says factors such as his intellectual disability, his stepfather’s physical abuse and his two other children are reasons to spare his life.
The prosecution says factors such as Talia’s age justify death.
