Arkansas: Curtis Vance

David Koon reports that forensic psychologist Shawn Agharkar, a professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta, told a jury this morning trying to decide whether Curtis Vance should die for the murder of KATV anchor Anne Pressly that Vance was brain damaged and paranoid.

Agharkar, the third witness to testify for the defense in the penalty phase of the trial that started yesterday afternoon, said Vance's impairment might not always be noticeable, comparing him to a "vehicle that looks good but has a wiring problem" and may have trouble starting or running.

Agharkar said his review of the battery of tests given Vance earlier in the year indicated he had frontal lobe damage and was incapable of considering options.

Still no decision on whether Curtis Lavelle Vance will spend the rest of his life in prison or die for the beating death of KATV anchor Anne Pressly. Vance was found guilty earlier today of capital murder, rape and residential burglary.

After a short break following the verdict, jurors came back to begin hearing the prosecution's case for why Vance should die for the crime -- called aggravating circumstances -- and the defense's argument of why his life should be spared -- called mitigating circumstances. Now that he has been convicted of capital murder, life in prison without parole or death are the only two punishments the jury is allowed to consider.

It was a productive day in the capital murder trial of Curtis Vance, with prosecutors resting their case and the defense getting close enough that they will more than likely rest theirs first thing in the morning.

Court again ran late tonight, though Judge Chris Piazza had dismissed the jury early in the afternoon. At issue: hammering out instructions for the jury, which may get the case as early as tomorrow, and the testimony of two psychiatrists brought in by the defense to testify before the judge in an attempt to get him to rule that testimony about Vance's cognitive impairment should be admissable in court before the defense officially rests.

The state completed presenting its case this morning in the capital murder trial of Curtis Vance for the 2008 slaying of KATV anchor Anne Pressly.

The trial is currently in recess. Judge Chris Piazza said the state would likely officially rest after the break.

The state completed its case this morning. It likely will officially rest after the morning break.

The last witness was Dr. Stephen Erickson, deputy chief medical examiner for Arkansas. He described Pressly's autopsy. He said injuries were more akin to those seen in car accidents than from blunt trauma. He said she was struck repeatedly with a blunt, heavy object, probably an elongated object made of metal or hard wood.