There will be a fine - but no jail time - for each of the 22 religious leaders convicted this week of trespassing in the state Senate's Upper Gallery on May 6, 2014.
A Cole County jury took less than 10 minutes Thursday morning to determine the 22 leaders should pay only a fine, after spending nearly 3 hours Wednesday deciding to convict the 22 people for trespassing.
Jurors could have imposed a jail sentence of up to six months for each of the defendants, but under the law, the trial judge must set the fine - up to $500.
Circuit Judge Dan Green said he'll announce his decision on the fines later.
Rod Chapel Jr., one of their attorneys, said the 22 defendants would have to be in court to hear that announcement.
"I think that the jury looked at the evidence, made a determination - and then also decided what that determination was worth," Chapel told reporters as the defendants stood on the courthouse steps behind him. "They said this was something that ought to be handled by a fine. If you look at any other community in the state, that's how these issues are handled.
"Here in Jefferson City, it's not uncommon that, if you have a trespass charge, your fine might be in the neighborhood of $100."
Chapel also said he and co-attorneys Jay Barnes and Randall Barnes already are looking at their options for asking for a new trial or appealing their case to the court of appeals in Kansas City.
In a news release, state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, urged the religious leaders "to not only continue to fight their case - all the way to the Supreme Court if need be - to continue to relentlessly push for Medicaid expansion."
The battle over Medicaid expansion was the basis for the May 2014 protest.
"The lack of Medicaid expansion has resulted in more than 1,000 deaths since the time of their protest, since the time of their civil unrest," Chapel said.
Missouri lawmakers' Republican leadership has been against the proposal from the start.
One of those key opponents - Senate Appropriations Chair Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, testified Tuesday: "I made it very clear I would never add it to the budget. I don't think it's sustainable, financially."
Still, Schaefer testified he didn't think any of the May 6, 2014, demonstrators had broken the law.
Several lawmakers have said this week the case never should have come to a trial.
"To be prosecuted here for these charges talks about a prosecutor who is out-of-touch with the mores and the standards of his community - and that of the state," Chapel said Thursday afternoon.
"We as Americans not only have our First Amendment rights and all of the rights protected in our Constitution - including the right to seek redress and to address those issues when we've been charged."
Gov. Jay Nixon said any frustration about the case or the Medicaid debate should be directed at GOP lawmakers, not at the protesting pastors.
"People certainly have the right to come, to be there in an open public place," Nixon said Thursday at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia. "These clergy on the front lines of the working poor, they're passionate about this for the right reasons."
Chapel asked supporters: "Please continue to stand with us - as we request, not only in Jefferson City but in every community - that the prosecutors listen to the people before they file charges."
Cole County Prosecutor Mark Richardson filed the identical Class B misdemeanor charges against 23 religious leaders arrested during the May 2014 demonstration in the Senate gallery.
They originally were charged in separate cases but - with the same set of facts and evidence - were tried at the same time by the same jury.
But this week's trial covered only 22 of the defendants, because the 23rd - the Rev. Jessie J. Fisher, of Gladstone - didn't get to the courthouse until Monday afternoon, when jury selection began Monday morning.
So his trial was separated from the rest and, Chapel said, will be scheduled for a separate trial.
Citing Fisher's pending trial, Richardson declined to comment about this week's case and the jury's decisions.
The Associated Press contributed information used in this story.
Previous coverage:
Medicaid 22 guilty of trespassing, Aug. 18, 2016
Medicaid 22 trial could end Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016
'Medicaid 23' go on trial today, Aug. 16, 2016
'Rally for dignity' disrupts Senate; 23 arrested in Medicaid demonstration, May 7, 2014