This Nov. 10, 2003 file photo released by Tarshia Williams shows Williams' daughter Talia Williams in Orangeburg, S.C. Naeem Williams, a former soldier who avoided the death penalty for his 5-year-old daughter Talia’s beating death, is expected to be sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. (AP Photo/Tarshia Williams, File) (The Associated Press)
HONOLULU – A former soldier who avoided the death penalty in his 5-year-old daughter's beating death has been ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Naeem Williams was sentenced Friday in federal court in Honolulu for killing his daughter, Talia.
It was the first death-penalty case to go to trial in Hawaii since it became a state.
Jurors who convicted Williams of murder later were unable to agree on whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison without possibility for release.
Because the jury couldn't reach a consensus, the judge was required to sentence Williams to a life term.
Williams and Talia's stepmother, Delilah Williams, testified that they beat the girl almost daily during the seven months she lived with them in Hawaii.
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