The sentencing phase of a capital case is very different from the proceedings before it. The entire objective is to convince the jury that life in prison, not the death penalty, is appropriate.

Charles Ray Hicks Jr.'s family and friends are hoping the jury will see him as they do — as a good but troubled man whose demons led him on a destructive path.

Hicks, 40, of Tobyhanna, will wait to see if the jury will sentence him to death or life in prison without parole after convicting him Friday of first-degree murder in the death and dismemberment of Deanna Null, 36, of Scranton.

Null's dismembered remains were discovered in trash bags dumped along interstates 380 and 80 in Monroe County in January 2008, days after she was last seen getting into a car driven by a male later believed to be Hicks in Scranton. Hicks was charged in early March 2008 after evidence, including Null's severed hands, was found in his home and car.

http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20141117/NEWS/141119512