SAVANNAH, Ga. — Lawyers for three men accused in the shooting death of a Savannah debutante blasted police and prosecutors Thursday for "getting into bed" with liars, thieves and deal-cutters in an effort to solve the case as quickly as possible.

"She went to hell to get her witnesses," defense lawyer Richard Darden said of the lead prosecutor. His client, Michael Thorpe, is accused of shooting 19-year-old Jennifer Ross on Christmas Eve 2005 after she refused to give him her purse. (VIDEO)

Thorpe, Webster Wilson and Kevin Huckabee face life in prison if convicted of killing Ross and pistol-whipping her friend, Brett Finley, in a botched robbery that occurred just hours after she attended her debutante ball.

As lawyers presented their closings arguments Thursday, almost one year to the day since the killing in Savannah's historic downtown district, lawyers on both sides clashed on witness credibility, an issue central to the case.

"This was a high-profile case. They had to arrest someone," Wilson's lawyer Brian Daly, told the panel, which includes four black jurors and one Asian. Ross was white, and the defendants are all black.

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"This case got pushed and I hate to say it, the evidence shows it," Daly said.

During five days of testimony, a jury of five men and seven women heard from several friends of the defendants who testified that the three admitted their involvement in the shooting.

At least four of those witnesses appeared in court in jailhouse apparel or shackles because of charges unrelated to this case.

The panel also heard from Thorpe's uncle who testified that he was part of the plot to carry out the robbery but that he fled at the last minute.

But Chatham County Assistant District Attorney Christy Barker told the jury that the defendants picked their witnesses, whose information was corroborated by police.

"They chose the time and date and manner in which the crime was committed and they choose who they tell about it," Barker said during her closing argument Thursday. "And they are not choosing to tell this to busloads of nuns."

Closing arguments are expected to continue Thursday afternoon.