Lawyers: Hanson deserves mercy even though he didn't show any

Terrance and Mary Hanson never turned their backs on their troubled youngest child, Eric, who faces the death penalty for killing his parents, sister and her husband more than two years ago.

In trying to convince a DuPage County jury to spare his life, his lawyer asked the panel to consider one question later today when it deliberates a possible death sentence.

Would his parents really give up on him now?

"These were parents who would never give up on their child," said Elizabeth Reed, a senior public defender. "In reality, they (prosecutors) are asking each and every one of you to kill someone.

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"The state may argue Eric doesn't deserve mercy because he didn't show mercy. But if we are all shown the same mercy we deserve, there wouldn't be a lot thrown around."

The jury of eight men and four women began listening to lawyers' closing arguments this morning before debating behind closed doors whether the 31-year-old Naperville man should live or die for killing four members of his affluent family, including the parents who showered him with unconditional love.

The panel, whose foreman is a 55-year-old Wheaton man, will be sequestered overnight in a hotel if it can't reach a swift verdict by about 10 p.m. It has two choices: life in prison without parole or death.

The same jury convicted Hanson after just three hours of deliberations Feb. 20 of executing his parents, sister and her husband. The panel also swiftly found him eligible for death by lethal injection, based on several statuatory factors.

Hanson will become the 14th man on Illinois' death row if jurors sentence him to death.

Prosecutor Michael Wolfe argued Hanson didn't show any mercy and doesn't deserve a life of any kind. He urged jurors to impose the death penalty.

"This is not a pleasant day for the state of Illinois or the people of DuPage County," said Wolfe, the criminal prosecution's chief. "But, as you know, sometimes doing the right thing is not a pleasant thing. But, you do it, because it's right.

"The murders were committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner and, for that, the defendant should be sentenced to death."

The verdict will end a long court battle that included more than 80 witnesses and 430 pieces of physical evidence presented during 14 days of often-emotional testimony.

Hanson, always dressed in a suit, rarely showed outward signs of emotion. He has declined to view graphic crime-scene photos and remained calm despite a grueling five hours on the witness stand Feb. 15.

But the Naperville man's stoical expression changed last Friday when his older sister, Jennifer Williams, described the sad irony of his crimes. In her victim-impact statement, Williams said Eric killed the only people who loved him unconditionally in this world. He wept as she described their father as her hero; mother as a best friend; and sister as a doting aunt to her two nieces and a nephew.

Hanson maintains his innocence. But prosecutors said he killed his family out of greed after stealing more than $80,000 from his parents in an elaborate credit-card scheme. They argue he is a remorseless killer who squandered so many opportunities.

On Sept. 29, 2005, police discovered the bludgeoned bodies of Katherine "Kate" Hanson-Tsao, 31, along with her husband, Jimmy, 34, in their upscale Aurora home in the White Eagle subdivison.

Terrance Hanson, 57, and his wife, Mary, 55, also were found slain there. The elder couple was shot in their bed in their Naperville home, along Rock Spring Court, where Eric lived, then taken to Kate's 5 miles away.

Hanson, admitted being a thief, but he argued that did not make him a cold-blooded killer.

He was found guilty of first-degree murder, armed robbery, aggravated kidnapping and identity theft.

Regardless of the brutality of the crimes, the jury must consider various mitigating factors that may be present in the defendant's background.

It may be a hard sell for the defense since Hanson does not meet many of them. For example, he has a criminal history and does not suffer from a mental illness or a history of physical or mental abuse.

But Reed argued Hanson does have a diminished IQ, but still in the low normal range and has had a history of emotional problems.

A defense psychologist, Marva Dawkins, testified Tuesday about her observations after interviewing Hanson three times and poring over records into his past.

She said he was raised by loving parents who, despite some marital troubles, gave him a supportive home. Hanson suffers from attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, for which he took medication as a child, and had a learning disability, behavioral issues and emotional problems.

Though she did not find Hanson to have a psychotic disorder, Dawkins did diagnose him with narcissistic personality disorder with certain antisocial and dependency features. She said he lacks the ability to form deep bonds or feel much empathy for others.

As a child, he was in special education classes. Hanson spent time in a home for troubled youths because of behavioral problems.

As he aged, Hanson was convicted of home invasion and retail theft. Three girlfriends described how he lied, stole and, on a few occasions, became violent.

Most disturbing, though, was a 911 call involving his sister, Kate, on Feb. 10, 1993, when she told police he held a knife against her throat when they lived in Burnsville, Minn. Eric was 16. Wolfe read today the words Kate penned 15 years ago in the police report.

"(He) got very mad at me and grabbed the top of my hair and threw me down on the wood floor," Wolfe said, quoting Kate. "His face turned color because he was so angry. He said, 'I might as well kill you because as soon as my probation officer finds out, I'll be sent away anyway.' He said, 'I can cover it up. No one will know.'Ãcirc;brvbar;"

Kate, with a friend, fled to a nearby grocery store and called police. More than 12 years later, she was not as lucky.

Police developed Hanson as a suspect in the murders within an hour. It was Williams, who lives in Minnesota, who identified her brother and said he had threatened to kill Kate six weeks earlier if she told their father about the credit card fraud.

Hanson, though, said both his parents knew and agreed to let him pay the money back without police involvement.

Police arrested him one day after the grisly discovery after he returned from a one-day trip in Los Angeles to visit his ex-fiancee. Officers found Kate's $24,000 wedding ring and Jimmy's Rolex watch in his sport-utility vehicle. Hanson explained he simply was returning the jewelry, but didn't get a chance before his trip.

He couldn't explain another piece of evidence crucial to the prosecution. Hanson told jurors he had no idea how a rubber glove with his father's blood ended up in a zipped plastic bag, along with three other gloves, in his SUV.

Closing arguments in Hanson's death penalty sentencing hearing continue this afternoon in Wheaton. DuPage Circuit Judge Robert Anderson is presiding.