Jurors in Peoria are deciding whether a former University of Illinois doctoral student should get the death penalty for kidnapping, torturing, and killing a young scholar from China.

The same jurors took less than two hours to convict Brendt Christensen last month, but if they can’t agree unanimously on the death penalty now, he’ll go to prison for life.

WBEZ/s Melba Lara talked with reporter Tanya Koonce, who’s covering the trial for WILL Radio.