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Stevens' Fate in Jury's Hands

Deliberations to begin Wednesday

By Peter Fearon, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 21, 2008 10:21 PM CDT

(Newser) – The jury in the corruption trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens will begin deliberating tomorrow, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Prosecutors urged the jury to use common sense to conclude that $250,000 in gifts received by the powerful senator were bribes. His defense counsel told jurors that evidence against Stevens, 84, has been twisted.

"I ask you to do something that very few people have done," prosecutor Brenda Morris told jurors. "Stand up to him. Behind all that growling, and all those snappy comebacks and that righteous indignation, he's just a man. He should stand up and take responsibility like everyone who comes into the courtroom. Make him responsible."

[Images (3)]

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Sen. Ted Stevens walks past journalists as he leaves the U.S. District Court in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Ted Stevens with his daughter, Beth Stevens. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Sen. Ted Stevens and his daughter Beth Stevens talk to a US marshal. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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You have heard evidence that this is a very decent man. Would he be involved in a conspiracy, year after year, covering up? - Brenda Sullivan, defense attorney

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Stevens' Fate in Jury's Hands