Editing Jeffrey Dahmer (section)

===Closing arguments===
The trial lasted two weeks.{{sfn|Dahmer|1994|p=211}} On February 14, both attorneys delivered their closing arguments to the jury. Each attorney was allowed to speak for two hours. Defense attorney Gerald Boyle argued first. Repeatedly referring to the testimony of the mental health professionals—almost all of whom had agreed Dahmer was afflicted with a mental disease{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=268}}—Boyle argued that Dahmer's compulsive killings had been a result of "a sickness he discovered, not chose".<ref name="nytimes Sanity of Dahmer"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19920215&id=lHtOAAAAIBAJ&pg=1633,5266547|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 15, 1992|title=Defense Claims Dahmer Was a 'Killing Machine'|access-date=October 22, 2020|archive-date=January 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122063013/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19920215&id=lHtOAAAAIBAJ&pg=1633%2C5266547|url-status=live}}</ref> Boyle portrayed Dahmer as a desperately lonely and profoundly sick individual "so out of control he could not conform his conduct anymore".{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=269}}

Following the defense counsel's 75-minute closing argument, [[E. Michael McCann|Michael McCann]] delivered his closing argument for the prosecution, describing Dahmer as a sane man, in full control of his actions, who simply strove to avoid detection.<ref>{{cite news |first=Rogers |last=Worthington |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-02-10-9201130157-story.html |title=Dahmer Case Comes Down to Will Vs. Impulse |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=February 10, 1992 |access-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126050524/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-02-10-9201130157-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nytimes Sanity of Dahmer">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/15/us/jury-deliberates-sanity-of-dahmer.html |title=Jury Deliberates Sanity of Dahmer |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 15, 1992 |access-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-date=January 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116054542/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/15/us/jury-deliberates-sanity-of-dahmer.html |url-status=live}}</ref> McCann described Dahmer as a calculating individual who killed to control his victims and retained their bodies "merely to afford" himself a prolonged period of sexual pleasure.<ref>{{cite news |first=Edward |last=Walsh |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1992/02/01/man-describes-hours-long-ordeal-before-police-apprehended-dahmer/e30288f1-eaf3-4a4f-a67b-d7c570b36174 |title=Man Describes Hours-long Ordeal Before Police Apprehended Dahmer |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 1, 1992 |access-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122093324/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1992/02/01/man-describes-hours-long-ordeal-before-police-apprehended-dahmer/e30288f1-eaf3-4a4f-a67b-d7c570b36174 |url-status=live}}</ref> McCann argued that by pleading guilty but insane to the charges, Dahmer was seeking to escape responsibility for his crimes.<ref name="nytimes Sanity of Dahmer"/>