SC Prison Inmate Gets 3rd Life Sentence

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ A South Carolina inmate has been sentenced to a third life sentence in the death and mutilation of his cellmate. Prosecutor Donnie Myers said in a news release that 35-year-old John New was sentenced last week. Court records show he pleaded guilty and had been charged with murder. New was already serving two life sentences related to a 1999 prison riot when he was charged with murder in 2011. Authorities said they got a call about a stabbing and found the mutilated body of 49-year-old Ricky Cooper near a shower at McCormick Correctional Institution. The word “pervert” was written on the convicted child molester’s head. Cooper began serving a 20-year sentence in 2009 for sexually assaulting minors. Authorities said he had been strangled with string.