by arguing that Harding's crimes were well planned and not impulsive. Although Harding primarily acted as his own attorney during his murder trial as well, with some assistance from a court-appointed public defender, he spent most of the trial seated with his eyes concealed by sunglasses, refusing to cross-examine witnesses or present a defense. After the prosecution and defense rested their cases, the jury deliberated for five hours before returning with their verdict on April 27, at 4:15 PM. Harding was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the killings of Robert Wise and Martin Concannon, as well as the armed robberies and kidnappings of both men and the theft of Concannon’s car. On May 26, 1982, Harding's sentencing hearing took place. The trial court permitted Harding to present mitigating circumstances to argue against the imposition of the death penalty in his case and also offered him additional time to form his case, but Harding declined both the offer to present mitigating circumstances and the offer for extra time. The prosecution found four aggravating circumstances, including his prior conviction for the life-threatening assault that he had committed while in custody; the fact that he committed the murders for pecuniary gain; and the fact that the murders were committed in "an especially cruel, heinous, or depraved manner." Harding was formally sentenced to death for the two murders; he also received two consecutive 21-year sentences for the robberies and two more consecutive 5-year sentences for the theft of Concannon's car. Later, Harding received a third death sentence for the murder of Allen Gage, although this third sentence was imposed separately from the murders for Concannon and Wise; Harding was ultimately executed after exhausting his appeals for the double murder. Execution Harding remained on death row in Arizona for almost ten years. During that time, he filed a total of three appeals, all of which saw his murder convictions and death sentences upheld. At Harding's hearing before the Arizona Board of Pardons and Paroles, his defense attorneys repeated the arguments they used in Harding's trial regarding his organic brain damage. The board ultimately refused to recommend that then-Governor Fife Symington grant mercy in the form of a reprieve or commutation to life imprisonment. Prior to Harding's execution, around 150 people staged an anti-death penalty protest outside of the Florence State Prison walls. Harding's execution was scheduled to take place shortly after