By David Eck
Enquirer Contributor

HAMILTON - One by one, Anthony Mason's five sons came forward Wednesday to tell a Butler County jury about the love they share for their father, how supportive he is of them and how much they need him.

Then they pleaded with jurors to spare his life.

A six-man, six-woman jury deliberated for 51/2 hours Wednesday without reaching a decision on a recommended sentence for Mason in the killing of his ex-girlfriend last May. The jury was sequestered and will resume deliberations at 9 a.m. today.

The same jury found Mason, 44, guilty Monday of aggravated murder, aggravated burglary and felonious assault. Authorities say he broke into a Hamilton apartment, hit Janie Turley on the head with a gun and then fired the shot that killed Turley's daughter, Angela, 27.

Jurors can choose to recommend a death sentence, life in prison without parole, 30 years in prison before the possibility of parole or 25 years in prison before the possibility of parole.

The deliberations capped an emotional day of testimony from family members.

"Anything I asked him for, he was there," said Anthony Mason Jr., 24. "I love my father. My relationship to my father is everything."

Other children described how Mason would attend their ball games and other events and how they would spend time together as a family.

"He's the only father I've got," said son Brandon Mason, 20. "Two wrongs don't make a right."

Mason's mother, sister and ex-wife also spoke on his behalf. Tears flowed freely as each family member talked about him.

"I love him with all my heart," said Mason's mother, Julia Tolliver.

"I'd rather see him locked up than be put to death."

Mason told the jury that he had worked hard over the years and that he was proud of his children, as tears welled up in his eyes.

"I am sincerely sorry for the pain I have caused everyone involved," he said. "If I am allowed to live, I will be a positive influence on my kids' lives so they will not become what I became."

Butler County Assistant Prosecutor Craig Hedric urged jurors to look beyond the emotion of the testimony and focus on the events of last May.

"He had everything going for him," Hedric said. "He had a big, healthy, positive family to support him. He put himself in this position. He did it to himself."

E-mail daveck@fuse.net