What happens next in the trial of a man accused of torturing and killing a woman in Oak Ridge?

ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. – Prosecutors and the defense completed their closing arguments Friday afternoon in the death penalty trial of Sean Finnegan. The jury is expected to begin deliberations Saturday and determine whether he is guilty of the 2020 rape, torture and murder of Jennifer Paxton.

If the jury finds Finnegan guilty of first-degree murder, another trial will be held to determine punishment. In that trial, Finnegan could be sentenced to death.

“You can vote unanimously for the death penalty. You can choose a life sentence without the possibility of parole, which means you will spend the rest of your life in prison, or a life sentence with the possibility of parole, which means you will be eligible for parole after 51 years,” said Don Bosch, a legal expert.

After a death sentence is passed, it usually takes years for the execution to take place. Sometimes defendants die of natural causes before the execution date.

“It is a very lengthy and expensive process, and that is necessary. Because if the state seeks to kill a person as a punishment, of course there have to be safeguards in place to ensure that the correct procedures are followed,” Bosch said.

In East Tennessee, death penalty cases are rare because of the time and expense involved.

Among the most famous death penalty cases from East Tennessee in recent years is that of Lemaricus Davidson, who was convicted in 2009 for the murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. Christa Pike was also sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer.

Thomas Huskey, also known as “The Zoo Man,” was sentenced to death in 1992 for the deaths of several people. Although Huskey was convicted of rape, he was never convicted of murder due to a hung jury.

He, Pike and Davidson are all still in prison.