Shane Anthony Liggins hung his head Friday afternoon in court as the jury foreman pronounced him guilty of third-degree murder for fatally shooting Edward "Roi" Harrison.

At the same time, Mary Harrison clasped hands with her slain husband's grandmother, Rebecca Harrison.

And the defendant's mother, Leslie Harrison-Liggins, waited for the news in the hallway outside Courtroom No.12, afraid she would be overcome by emotion, according to her son's attorney.

It took jurors less than five hours to make their decision, which also included acquitting the 19-year-old of first- and second-degree murders. Both those charges carry life sentences.

Third-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison, and senior prosecutor Joshua Neiderhiser said he will ask the judge to impose the maximum.

"(I) think that's what he deserves," the prosecutor said.

It was Neiderhiser's first murder trial. He said that while he's "a little disappointed" the jury didn t go for first-degree murder, he is still pleased with the verdict.

"We knew going in we had a solid case for third," he said.

Harrison, 25, was shot three times around 11:30 p.m. March 7, 2007, as he stood outside his home in the 700 block of Wallace Street and spoke to a friend on his cell phone.

The friend, Curtis Johnson Jr., testified that the last words Harrison spoke before being shot were, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I ain't got nothing, I ain't got nothing."

While Neiderhiser has said the shooting

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may have been a botched robbery, nothing was taken from Harrison.

After being arrested by police, Liggins wrote a confession in which he claimed he'd shot a man after the man jumped out from an alley while holding a gun. The two men apparently did not know each other.

Based on Liggins' confession, defense attorney Sandra Thompson had urged jurors to consider the shooting a case of self-defense -- but only if they determined Liggins fired the shots in the first place.

Presiding Common Pleas Judge John H. Chronister scheduled sentencing for July 7 and ordered a full pre-sentence investigation.

At that point, Thompson asked Chronister to throw out the conviction, then said she will file a written brief asking for the "judgment for acquittal."

"(The verdict) was based on speculation," Thompson told reporters. "There was no believable evidence at all."

She questioned the legitimacy of Liggins' confession and how it was obtained.

But Neiderhiser said there's evidence to support the conviction.

"Obviously there is -- the jury convicted him," he said.

Mary Harrison spoke calmly outside the courtroom, making it clear she'd hoped for a first-degree murder conviction.

"It wouldn't have been my verdict, but obviously I'm not a juror," she said. "He'll have time to contemplate his actions (in prison). ... Hopefully, other young men will decide to think before pursuing the life he's chosen."

The widow said Liggins must still "account to God."

"The true bearer of the burden is him now," she said. "Now I can go home and hopefully find ... peace."

Rebecca Harrison said her family will never be whole because her grandson will always be missing.

She said she's satisfied the jury found Liggins guilty.

"He'll have plenty of time to think," she said.