RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Austin Thompson, 18, was sentenced to life without possibility of parole Friday for all five counts of first-degree murder.
The judge ruled he was sentenced to at least 157 months for attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon causing serious injury to Lynn Gardner.
The hearing lasted about two weeks. Thompson and his legal team decided to enter a guilty plea for all five murders and some additional charges on Jan. 21 in Wake County.
Austin entered the courtroom at 9:27 a.m. Friday morning.
At 9:30 a.m., the defense told Judge Paul Ridgeway that a sentence of life without parole would be "unconstitutional."
Judge Ridgeway wanted to take a moment to remember the five victims: Nicole Connors, 52; Susan Karnatz, 49; Mary Marshall, 35; Gabriel Torres, 29; and James Thompson, 16. He talked briefly about each one of them and their loved ones left behind.
On Friday, it is expected that the judge will sentence Hedingham mass shooter Austin Thompson to life in prison or a sentence with the possibility of parole.
The judge will sentence Thompson at the Wake County Justice Center.
The defense and prosecution laid out their closing arguments on Thursday.
ABC11's Tom George spoke with former U.S. Attorney Michael Easley Jr., who spoke about the decision the judge has to make.
"I think it's really important for a judge when they are weighing the goals of sentencing, that they think very seriously about deterrence," Easley said. "We do not want anyone thinking that they can go with a loaded gun in this community and take the lives of our friends and our neighbors.
"And a strong message needs to be said that no matter your age, if you go out and use a weapon of war and make an adult decision in a premeditated fashion to take the lives of others, that there will be severe consequences meted out," Easley added.
Thompson is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of life with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
The maximum penalty would be five life sentences.
There have been seven full days of testimony in Austin Thompson's sentencing hearing, and the judge is expected to issue his sentence on Friday.
The prosecution and defense made their cases in closing arguments.
"This is a calculated, mature 15-yearold who committed one of the deadliest spree shootings in this state," said Wake County Assistant District Attorney Patrick LaTour. "All of the killings that he does are close up, in-person, and on his path to safety in the woods."
Thompson's attorney, Kelly Mann, countered by saying, "There were no red flags in Austin's life. The harm and the pain that Austin has caused is bigger than he could repay in 10 lifetimes."
LaTour added that "the reality is we will probably never know why he did this. He committed violence not once, not twice, not three times, seven times that day. He terrorized an entire community for over an hour."
Mann rejected the notion that the Hedingham mass shooting was a calculated act.
"Austin had no grievance, no cause, no extremism, no preoccupation, no escalating marinating violence. The state wants you to believe that this was very well planned and that he fits the mold of a typical mass shooter," said Mann. "I know it feels safer to put him in that box and to say he's just like everybody else who commits mass shooting. But that is not the truth."
LaTour stated that "In the blink of an eye, everything changed for those people and for the people that they left behind."
Court resumes at 9:30 a.m. Friday.
The judge headed to his chambers after hearing closing arguments from both sides.
The court will have to decide whether Austin Thompson could be eligible for parole someday.
Court is in recess until 9:30 a.m. Friday.
