NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Jurors started deliberations Friday in the trial of a man charged with beheading a co-worker and trying to kill another at an Oklahoma food processing plant.
Prosecutors said during closing arguments that Alton Nolen, 33, knew right from wrong when he killed Coleen Hufford, 54, in September 2014 at Vaughan Foods in Moore. The company had suspended Nolen for racial remarks before the attack.
Defense attorneys argue that Nolen was insane when he killed his co-worker. A psychologist testified for the defense that Nolen was insane at the time of the attack, is currently mentally ill and is getting sicker.
Nolen is charged with first-degree murder and five counts of assault, including the stabbing and wounding of another co-worker before a company executive shot him. If convicted, he faces a possible death sentence.
Prosecutors have alleged that Nolen, a Muslim convert, felt oppressed and justified his actions based on his interpretation of the Quran. An expert on Islamic beliefs testified for the defense during a 2016 hearing that Nolen's ideas were irrational, contradictory and inconsistent with normal Islamic teachings.