GULFPORT, Miss. – Prosecutors say a 62-year-old man with a history of violence has been sentenced to life without parole for stabbing a woman and beating her with other objects after the knife blade broke.
The Sun Herald reports James Marco Ferguson of Ocean Springs faced a maximum penalty of 20 years for aggravated assault, but was sentenced as a habitual offender in a trial that ended Thursday.
A Harrison County jury deliberated about 40 minutes before returning a guilty verdict.
Assistant District Attorney Crosby Parker said Ferguson has eight felony convictions, including manslaughter in 1971, jail escape and kidnapping in 1972, burglary in 1982 and assault in 2005.
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