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Life Sentence Upheld For Southwood Middle School Killer

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) — A Miami-Dade judge handed down a new sentence for a man who stabbed a classmate to death in a middle school bathroom more than a decade ago.

Michael Hernandez, 26, was given a mandatory life sentence again. He had received the same sentence before for the 2004 murder of Jamie Gough in a Southwood Middle School bathroom. Both were 14-years old at the time.  Trial evidence showed Hernandez was obsessed with becoming a serial killer.

Judge John Schlesinger said on Monday he had reviewed all the legal arguments and could not find a reason that would spare him a life sentence.

In re-sentencing Michael Hernandez Monday, Schlesinger said Hernandez has not shown any remorse for taking the life of his friend Jamie Gough in a Southwood Middle School bathroom in 2004. Instead, Schlesinger said he remains fascinated by "grotesque" and "violent" acts.

Schlesinger said he reached this conclusion based on the 19 weeks of recorded jailhouse calls in which he glorifies mass shooters and asks his father to play him songs that center around dismemberment and throat slashing.

"How is someone not sickened by this," Schlesinger said. "I find he is the same person he was in 2004. He has no empathy for the victims of these crimes. This case is that uncommon case that does require a life sentence."

Gough's father said Hernandez is "a danger to society" and deserved life in prison.

Hernandez's attorneys argued he suffered from a mental illness at the time of the murder but has improved which should mitigate a life sentence.

Earlier this month, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge John Schlesinger heard several days of testimony about Hernandez's mental state.

Related: Southwood Middle Killer Takes Stand In Re-Sentencing Hearing

On the stand, Hernandez testified that that up until recently he suffered from delusions and was not thinking properly. He said he didn't realize this until he began talking with a psychologist.

"I didn't see how illogical it was for a while. After being told by everyone that I was wrong, and that what I was thinking made absolutely no sense, it made me think how could that be, how could I have let myself get so far off the mark," said Hernandez. "I had a solid dose of reality when Dr. Rosenfeld was asking me about the the delusions I was having. We talked about the final one which was the world cleansing. He asked me whether I thought I could actually pull off killing all six billion people in world and it dawned on me just then, because I had believed it, it dawned on me how illogical that was."

Hernandez was informed that after he was re-sentenced, that term will be up for review in 13 years and he could be eligible for parole after 25 years.

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