By Fred Jackson
March 23, 2001

(AgapePress) - In Arkansas, the jury in the case of the homosexual murder of 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising ran into more problems last night, this time over whether the young boy’s death was accidental.

On Wednesday, the jurors convicted 23-year-old Joshua Brown of rape, but were not able to resolve whether he was guilty of capital murder. Yesterday, they finally agreed to the lesser charge of first-degree murder. The case then entered the penalty phase, where there was relatively quick consensus that Brown should get 25 years for the rape conviction.

But by last evening, the jurors could not come to a unanimous decision on whether Brown should get a life term on the murder charge. In fact, according to press reports, only one of the jurors voted for the life sentence. The other 11 said 10-20 years would be sufficient.

According to the Northwest Arkansas News, the majority felt Dirkhising’s death was an accident, despite the fact they had heard testimony that the young boy had suffocated to death after being drugged, forcibly tied to a mattress, gagged with his own underwear, and repeatedly raped.

With the deadlock in place last night, Judge David Clinger set a March 30 hearing where he will decide Brown’s sentence.

The trial for the other defendant in the case, Brown’s homosexual partner, 39-year-old Davis Don Carpenter, is set for early May.

© 2001 AgapePress all rights reserved.

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