Hicks was put on trial and became the sensation of the city press. The physical evidence of his guilt was overwhelming and the defense made little effective rebuttal. The jury deliberated for about seven minutes before returning a guilty verdict. The judge ordered him to be hanged until dead. Afterwards, Hicks gave a full confession of the murders and his life story which was published as a book on the day of his execution. Hicks gave his reason "...the devil took possession of me."