A judge has once again sentenced a South Florida man to life in prison for fatally stabbing his middle school friend when both were 14.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge John Schlesinger delivered his ruling in the case of 26-year-old Michael Hernandez Monday afternoon.
The judge said recent recorded phone calls from jail and prison in which Hernandez discussed serial killers and violent music and movies helped sway his decision.
"I'm compelled to reach a conclusion that I never wanted to reach, and that conclusion is that the defendant Michael Hernandez today is essentially the same kind of person he was in 2004," Schlesinger said. "He continues to be obsessed and fascinated by violent books, movies and music, by mass murderers and serial killers, he has no real insight or empathy for the victims of these crimes and the prognosis for rehabilitation frankly is poor."
Schlesinger called Hernandez "self-centered" and said his actions were "grotesque."
Hernandez showed no emotion as the sentence was handed down. He can still appeal the sentence.
Hernandez was seeking to reduce the life prison sentence he is serving for killing Jaime Gough in 2004 in a middle school bathroom.
The original sentence had to be reconsidered after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that juveniles could not automatically be sentenced to life without chance of parole.
"Well, there finally has been justice for my son," father George Gough said after Monday's sentencing. "It's been horrible, I mean the ups and downs, this should’ve been over a long time ago, for two years it's been back and forth, back and forth."
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Prosecutors argued Hernandez should remain behind bars for life. Testimony indicated he remains obsessed with death and becoming a serial killer. Hernandez insisted his mental state is improved.
