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Life Sentence Upheld For Southwood Middle Killer Michael Hernandez

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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — The 3rd District Court of Appeals has upheld the life prison sentence imposed a second time on a Florida man convicted of killing his middle school classmate when both were just 14 years old.

The court ruled Wednesday a Miami judge was correct in sentencing Michael Hernandez to life behind bars for the February 2004 stabbing death of Jaime Gough at Southwood Middle School. Hernandez got a second sentencing hearing in 2016 because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that juveniles could not get mandatory life sentences.

Testimony showed that the now 28-year-old Hernandez remained obsessed with violent imagery and music that glorified death and murder. Prosecutors say Hernandez wanted to become a serial killer and had a list of victims.

His sentence will be reviewed after 25 years.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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