Alaska man’s prison sentence for murder reduced to 24 years

KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska man’s prison sentence for murder has been reduced to 24 years.

The Ketchikan Daily News reported Tuesday that 26-year-old Devin Rossiter was originally sentenced to 36 years.

The full sentence handed down Monday is 40 years with 16 years suspended.

The Alaska Court of Appeals reversed Rossiter’s 2012 second-degree murder conviction in September 2017.

Authorities say Rossiter fatally stabbed 45-year old Nick Stachelrodt in 2011.

Records say the men struggled after Stachelrodt confronted the then-18-year-old Rossiter, who was rifling through a car looking for cigarettes.

The appeals court ruled the trial’s fairness was undermined when a prosecutor said the jury must convict Rossiter unless they decided Stachelrodt deserved to die.

Rossiter declined his right to a re-trial.

He could be eligible for parole after 10 years.

Information from: Ketchikan (Alaska) Daily News, http://www.ketchikandailynews.com