The last man to be tried for the 2016 killing of Steven Miller in CBS has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.
Paul Connolly actually received a sentence totalling more than 20 years for the brutal beating and stabbing death almost five years ago. But Justice Donald Burrage ran two of the sentences together, noting the offences were part of the same criminal adventure, and eventually landing on 10 years and six months.
BREAKING: 40-year-old Paul Connolly sentenced to 10 years, six months in prison for his part in killing of 25-year-old Steven Miller in July 2016. Connolly is last of three men to be sentenced for manslaughter in the crime carried out to steal drugs. @VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/A0Xmo6CmPp
— Brian Callahan (@briancallahan67) May 26, 2021
Connolly has also been in custody at the Pen awaiting trial since 2016, racking up time served along the way, thus leaving him with less than four years left in his sentence.
He was one of three men who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the case but his sentence is slightly higher given his age and longer criminal record, including his part in a 2014 prison riot. The judge said while the Pen is not exactly “Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood,” Connolly was also far from an ideal inmate.
Justice Burrage expressed hope for Connolly, noting his young daughter should provide a source of hope and incentive for him to get back on the straight and narrow.
However, he also noted the impact on the victim’s family, who have said they no longer have anything to look forward to.
March 12, 2021: NL Court of Appeal Upholds Sentence for Convicted Killer Chesley Lucas