DOUGLASVILLE, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
The same Douglas County jurors who found Tracen Franklin guilty Wednesday in the unprovoked beating death of a teenager now will decide whether Franklin deserves to die by lethal injection.
The penalty phase of the trial begins Thursday. Court officials said testimony could continue well into next week.
Lawyers for Franklin, 20, likely will call character witnesses to the stand to try to convince the jury to spare his life. Prosecutors likely will call to the stand loved ones of the victim, Bobby Tillman.
It took only two hours of deliberation Wednesday for jurors to convict Franklin.
According to witness testimony, Tillman, 18, did nothing to provoke the attack. He was sitting on the trunk of a car, staying out of the chaos that had erupted when teenage girls began fighting outside a house party in Douglasville in November of 2010.
One of Franklin's friends was inadvertently struck as he tried to break up the girl fight. According to witnesses, that young man, Emmanuel Boykin, said that since he doesn't hit girls, he would "pop" the next boy he saw. That boy was Tillman. Boykin threw a punch that knocked the smaller Tillman to the ground.
Witnesses said Boykin's friends, including Franklin, joined in the attack, stomping and kicking Tillman repeatedly as he lay on the ground.
The medical examiner said the blows caused a tear in Tillman's heart, killing him.
Boykin pleaded guilty and is serving life in prison. Two other men await their trials.
Check back with www.CBSAtlanta.com for updates.
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