Jury Deliberations Could Be Long in Gosnell Case

After more than six hours of heated closing arguments Monday in the murder trial of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, the jury began deliberating on the charges against him, Baptist Press reports. "Those deliberations could be long," according to The Philadelphia Inquirer April 30, adding that the jury of seven women and five men "will have to parse their way through a verdict sheet reportedly more than 30 pages long." Among the charges the jury must address are four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of viable children who were killed after delivery and a count of third-degree murder in the death of a Virginia woman during a 2009 abortion. Gosnell, who has pleaded not guilty, could receive the death penalty if he is convicted of first-degree murder. Other charges include conspiracy, theft, corruption of minors, solicitation and operating a corrupt organization.