(GoRealNewsNow.com) – Justice has been served as a Florida court shattered a former ballerina’s claim of self-defense in the fatal shooting of her husband.
Watch the video down below.
Ashley Benefield, once an elegant dancer, now faces 20 years behind bars for manslaughter.
Circuit Judge Matt Whyte in Manatee County, Florida, handed down the decades-long sentence to Ashley for the 2020 killing of her estranged husband Doug Benefield.
The couple, co-founders of the American National Ballet, saw their professional partnership end in tragedy when Ashley claimed she killed Doug in self-defense during an argument at their Bradenton home.
Initially charged with second-degree murder, Ashley could have spent the rest of her life in prison.
However, the jury convicted her of the lesser charge of manslaughter with a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years, after nearly seven hours of deliberation.
Ashley’s attempts to paint herself as a victim of abuse were thoroughly dismantled by prosecutors, who argued that her allegations were nothing more than lies designed to justify the murder.
Despite the severity of her crime, some have argued that Ashley Benefield’s sentence is too soft.
The maximum sentence for manslaughter with a firearm is 30 years, yet she received only 20.
Adding insult to injury, Ashley’s attorney plans to appeal both the conviction and the sentence.
This move not only keeps the suffering of Doug Benefield’s family alive but also shows a lack of remorse on the convicted killer’s part.
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