CINCINNATI (AP) " A former Ohio death row inmate has been sentenced to life without parole after rejecting the possibility of a lesser punishment.
Hamilton County Court Judge Megan Shanahan handed down the sentence against Rayshawn Johnson on Monday for beating a Cincinnati woman to death during a 1997 robbery.
The Ohio Supreme Court overturned Johnson's death sentence earlier this year based on his troubled upbringing and subsequent remorse.
The 37-year-old Johnson originally was sentenced to death in 1998. He had a new hearing after a federal judge said he'd received poor legal assistance, and he was again sentenced to death in 2011.
Johnson's attorney, Will Welsh, says Johnson chose not to seek a lesser sentence. He says his client asked for life without parole to bring closure to the family of his victim, Shanon Marks.