Curtis Lavelle Vance was sentenced to life in prison without parole Thursday for beating KATV Little Rock anchor Anne Pressly to death last year. Jurors deliberated less than three hours, reports the A.P., before deciding on life in prison instead of capital punishment.
Pressly was 26.
Vance's mother, Jacqueline Vance Burnett, had testified that she was an abusive mother with a crack problem and a history of drug dealing, prostitution and burglary.
The jury had found Vance guilty of capital murder, rape, burglary and theft of property a day before.
Her mother, Patti Cannady, expressed disappointment with Vance's sentence. According to the A.P., she leaned toward the defense attorneys and said, "You protected someone who should have never been protected."
