A jury deliberating double-murder charges in an El Paso County death-penalty case appears to be weighing whether Glen Law Galloway acted in self-defense in the first of two fatal shootings for which he is on trial.

During Thursday’s deliberations, the jury asked for guidance on self-defense and second-degree murder.

After discussing the issue with attorneys in the case, 4th Judicial District Judge Gregory Werner sent back a response that jurors had all the evidence and instructions they need to decide the case. The nine-man, three-woman panel then resumed deliberations.

Although far from definitive, jury questions can provide a window into a panel’s thinking, and Thursday’s query goes to the heart of Galloway’s defense that he didn’t plot the killing of Marcus Anderson, as prosecutors alleged.

Prosecutors must obtain at least one first-degree murder conviction for Galloway to be facing the death penalty.

If the jury votes for second-degree murder in one of the shootings, the prosecution would be on shakier ground in requesting the state’s ultimate punishment, legal observers say.

The issue of whether Galloway acted in self-defense has generated controversy in the county’s first capital case in a decade.

This week, the defense accused Werner of “bias” and asked him to recuse himself after he barred the defense from using the phrase “self-defense” in its closing remarks.

Under Colorado law, a self-defense instruction is generally approved if the defense presents even a “scintilla” of supporting evidence, legal observers say.

Werner ruled the defense had failed to provide evidence of self-defense, despite expert testimony about gunshot residue found inside Anderson’s pants and on his underwear, which the defense argued was consistent with Galloway’s story that Anderson had a gun in his waistband before pulling it on Galloway.

The judge previously ruled there wasn’t sufficient evidence for the jury to consider lesser offenses of manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide, leaving the panel no alternative beyond first- and second-degree murder.

Galloway, an ex-Fort Carson soldier, is charged in the May 2016 fatal shootings of Anderson and Janice Nam, the defendant’s ex-girlfriend. Prosecutors allege both killings were a revenge plot against Nam, whom he blamed for an October 2015 conviction for stalking.

The judge’s rulings on self-defense are likely to figure into future appeals should Galloway be convicted, experts say.

Phil Cherner, a retired Denver defense attorney who has argued post-conviction matters in a prominent death-penalty case, previously told The Gazette that jury instructions are fertile grounds for appeal in capital cases.

“Of cases that get reversed, frequently it’s the jury instructions,” he said.

The Galloway jury was sent home at 5 p.m. Thursday without reaching a verdict. The panel will not deliberate on Friday and is expected to resume deliberations on Monday morning.