MILWAUKEE — Jurors heard closing arguments Friday morning in the trial of a minister accused of suffocating an autistic boy during an intense exorcism ritual while the child's mother and two other female parishioners held the boy down.

"Ray Hemphill was not the primary cause of this tragedy," the defendant's attorney, public defender Thomas Harris, told jurors. "The primary cause of this child's death was drug overdose."

On the night of Aug. 22, 2003, in an 80-degree storefront church in Milwaukee's north end, Hemphill, 47, attempted to cast demons out of 8-year-old Terrance Cottrell Jr., in what was the boy's 12^th such prayer service.

Hemphill, who has no formal theological training, has been charged with physical abuse of a child, recklessly causing great bodily harm, and faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

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In a surprising move, however, prosecutors requested jurors be allowed to consider a lesser child-abuse charge — recklessly causing bodily harm — which carries a maximum of three-and-a-half years prison time.

In either case, jurors must decide whether Hemphill acted so recklessly that he created an unreasonable risk of harm to Terrance, with no regard for his safety.

The defense drove home its contention that Hemphill's conduct could not have been reckless because, they argued, "he was trying to do good."

"And he didn't cause his death anyway," Harris said. "The drugs did."

Terrance had been taking the antipsychotic drug ziprasidone, also known as Geodon, at a dosage of 200 milligrams per day. Toxicology reports showed that, in addition to Geodon, he also had over-the-counter medications dextromethorphan (a cough suppressant) and brompheniramine (an antihistamine) in his blood at elevated levels.

A medical examiner ruled the boy's death a homicide by asphyxiation, due to intense pressure on his chest. Terrance also had severe hemorrhaging on the back of his neck which may have been the result of his head thrashing against an elevated step near the pulpit.

Witnesses described both Terrance's and Hemphill's shirts as being soaked in sweat from the intense struggle during the prayer service, and prosecutor Mark Williams drew that final image for jurors in his own closings.

"Ray Hemphill was chest-to-chest with that child, he could hear that child's heartbeat, he could feel that child's sweat," Williams said. "Terrance Cottrell deserves some justice. Just picture him struggling as these people held him down and this man was at his chest."

According to testimony, Terrance, like most autistic children, hated to be touched and had few words to express his needs. His mother, Patricia Cooper, told investigators that she joined the independent Faith Temple of the Apostolic Faith Church after meeting a parishioner who offered to pray for her son.

Cooper, who was single, unemployed and had little resources, said she participated in the exorcisms in the hope that appealing to a higher power would help him. She said medication alone did not seem to be working.

"Just think of the stupidest adult you know and ask them, 'Is laying on a child going to hurt the child?'" Williams told jurors. "Any adult will say, 'Yeah, you're going to hurt that child.' To say that Ray Hemphill did not realize that he was hurting that child is totally disingenuous, it's totally stupid."

The defense gave an equally compassionate argument, asking jurors to consider Hemphill's concern for the boy's comfort.

"A pillow was placed under the boy's head, water was applied to his face, and when they realized something was wrong, he checked his pulse, he administered CPR immediately, he called 911 immediately," Harris said.

"This was a church-sanctioned prayer service, it had Mom's approval," Harris said, adding that his client was only "trying to do some good."

Jurors began deliberations shortly after 11 a.m. If they believe that the medication was the primary cause of the boy's death, they could still convict Hemphill of the lesser charge for which the maximum sentence is three and a half years in jail.

The prosecution has reserved the right to charge Cooper and the two other female parishioners present at the fatal service at the conclusion of Hemphill's trial.

Court TV is broadcasting the trial live.