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John Wayne Gacy
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===Closing arguments=== On March 11, final arguments by both prosecution and defense attorneys began. Prosecuting attorney Terry Sullivan outlined Gacy's history of abusing youths, the testimony of his efforts to avoid detection and describing his surviving victims—Voorhees and Donnelly—as "living dead". Referring to Gacy as the "worst of all murderers", Sullivan stated, "John Gacy has accounted for more human devastation than many earthly catastrophes... I tremble when thinking about just how close he came to getting away with it all."{{sfn|Amirante|2011|pp=320–326}}{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=360–374}} After the state's four-hour closing, counsel Sam Amirante spoke for the defense. Amirante accused Sullivan of scarcely referring to the evidence in his own closing argument, and of arousing hatred against his client. He attempted to portray Gacy as "driven by compulsions he was unable to control", contending the State had not met their [[Burden of proof (law)|burden]] of proving Gacy sane beyond a reasonable doubt.{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=360–374}} Amirante then urged the jury to put aside any prejudice they held against his client and asked they deliver a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity, adding that Gacy was a danger to both himself and to others, and that studying his psychology and behavior would be of benefit to science.{{sfn|Amirante|2011|pp=356–364}} On the morning of March 12, William Kunkle continued to argue for the prosecution.{{sfn|Amirante|2011|pp=356–364}} Kunkle referred to the defense's contention of insanity as "a sham", arguing that the facts of the case demonstrated Gacy's ability to think logically and control his actions. Kunkle also referred to the testimony of one of the doctors who had examined Gacy in 1968 and had concluded he was an antisocial personality, stating that had the recommendations of this doctor been heeded, Gacy would not have been freed.{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=360–374}} At the close of his argument, Kunkle removed photos of Gacy's 22 identified victims from a display board and asked the jury not to show sympathy but to "show justice".{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=360–374}} The jury deliberated for one hour and fifty minutes.{{sfn|Amirante|2011|p=381}} Gacy was found guilty of 33 charges of murder; he was also found guilty of sexual assault and taking indecent liberties with a child, both in reference to Robert Piest.{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=360–374}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pp8rAAAAIBAJ&pg=2750,2719769|title=Gacy Sentenced to Die; Readies Appeals|newspaper=[[Nashua Telegraph]]|via=Google News|date=March 14, 1980|access-date=September 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929110035/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pp8rAAAAIBAJ&pg=2750%2C2719769|archive-date=September 29, 2020}} {{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IbZBAAAAIBAJ&pg=6852,3893550|title=Court Refuses to Hear Mass Murderer Case|newspaper=[[The Harlan Daily Enterprise]]|via=Google News|date=March 1, 1985|access-date=March 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004170530/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IbZBAAAAIBAJ&pg=6852%2C3893550|archive-date=October 4, 2020}} {{Open access}}</ref> At the time, his conviction for 33 murders was the most for which any person in U.S. history had been convicted.<ref name="safe">{{cite news|last=Lee|first=William|date=December 16, 2018|title=John Wayne Gacy was Arrested 40 Years Ago in a Killing Spree that Claimed 33 Victims and Shattered the Illusion of the Safe Suburban Community|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|url=http://graphics.chicagotribune.com/john-wayne-gacy-murders-40-years-later/index.html|access-date=March 4, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216184859/http://graphics.chicagotribune.com/john-wayne-gacy-murders-40-years-later/index.html|archive-date=December 16, 2018|url-status=dead}} {{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Rossi|first=Rosalind A.|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZLYcAAAAIBAJ&pg=5140,7396894|title=Gacy Sentenced To Die For 33 Deaths|newspaper=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]]|date=March 14, 1980|via=Google News|agency=UPI|page=7|access-date=July 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929100753/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZLYcAAAAIBAJ&pg=5140%2C7396894|archive-date=September 29, 2020}} {{Open access}}</ref> In the [[Sentence (law)|sentencing phase]] of the trial, the jury deliberated for more than two hours before sentencing Gacy to death for each murder committed after the Illinois statute on capital punishment came into effect in June 1977.{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|p=374}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Rossi|first=Rosalind A.|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Zk80AAAAIBAJ&pg=6679,3103134|title=Mothers Tell Gacy Jury Of Last Time They Saw Sons|newspaper=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]]|date=February 8, 1980|agency=UPI|via=Google News|page=6|access-date=July 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929100525/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Zk80AAAAIBAJ&pg=6679%2C3103134|archive-date=September 29, 2020}} {{Open access}}</ref> His execution was set for June 2, 1980.{{sfn|Amirante|2011|pp=387–388}}
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