A jury is deliberating whether Tampa man Ronny Walker will get the death penalty or life in prison for the 2022 murder of 14-year-old Nilexia Alexander. The sentencing phase for convicted killer Ronny Walker began on Thursday, with attorneys for both sides telling jurors what kind of evidence they should weigh when deciding whether Walker should receive the death penalty or a life sentence. Jurors convicted Walker of first-degree murder on Tuesday, finding he shot and killed 14-year-old Nilexia Alexander, then left her body in an empty field on West Floribraska Avenue. Evidence presented during the penalty phase includes evidence related to the nature of the crime and Walker's character, background and life. This is organized by aggravating factors, which go toward a death sentence, and mitigating factors, which go toward a life sentence. Jurors will have to determine which factors hold the greatest weight, and whether that warrants the death penalty. Prosecutors delivered opening statements highlighting two specific aggravating factors: the alleged "cold, calculated and premeditated" nature of Alexander's murder as well as a 2003 robbery on a home that ended in the death of 45-year-old Elaine Caldwell, in which Walker pleaded guilty to several charges, including manslaughter. "You will find these aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating circumstances you're going to hear," prosecutor John Terry told the jury. "And that the appropriate sentence in this case is the sentence of death." Walker's defense attorneys said they will present evidence about his background and how he grew up, while acknowledging the verdict and that — regardless of a death or life sentence — Walker will die in prison. "We are not in any way, shape or form presenting mitigating circumstances to you to try to excuse Mr. Walker's behavior," defense attorney Carolyn Schlemmer said. "Not an excuse, maybe an explanation...so you can make that crucial decision, that individual moral decision." Prosecutors called two witnesses who testified to the 2003 robbery. The first was retired Tampa police officer Dennis Dravenik, who was the lead investigator on the case until he left the homicide unit in 2004. He described responding to a "chaotic" scene that night, finding Caldwell dead in her bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head. Also called to testify was Caldwell's boyfriend at the time, who was in the home with his daughter the night of her death. He said he was watching TV with his daughter when Walker entered his home with a gun, demanding money. Walker also asked who else was in the home, and the witness responded saying Caldwell was in a bedroom. He said Walker held him and his daughter at gunpoint, forcing them into the bedroom with Caldwell. "He kept saying 'where's the money' and she kept screaming and then he pointed the gun at her and kept saying be quiet, be quiet and I kept telling her to be quiet too, and then my daughter was crying also," the witness said. "So what I did was I reached for the gun and we went to tussling with the gun...and the gun went off." "I thought that it shot up in the ceiling, but it hit her in the head." Caldwell's then-boyfriend said she fell to the ground. After that, his daughter told Walker there was money in the trunk of a car in the driveway, and the three went outside before running to safety. On cross-examination, Walker's defense team pointed out the witness's criminal history, the fact that during the robbery, Walker told the daughter he wouldn't hurt her, and the fact that the gun went off during the struggle for the gun. The rest of the state's witnesses were Nilexia's mother, grandmother and former elementary school principal. All three gave victim impact statements on her loss. The state rested on Thursday and the defense will begin its case Friday.