(Getty Images/selimaksan)
The Associated Press
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Montana man who was twice convicted of killing another man during a drunken argument over which branch of the military was better was sentenced Friday to 80 years in prison.
William Earl Cunningham, 69, of Laurel was first convicted of deliberate homicide in March 2015 in the 2014 death of Nathan Horn, 40.
Horn claimed to be a Marine veteran, though defense attorneys said in the second trial that he hadn't actually served. Cunningham served in the Army.
The Montana Supreme Court overturned Cunningham's conviction and 80-year sentence in 2018, saying he was denied the chance to question the professional history and credibility of a state witness and not allowed to fully testify about why he was afraid of Horn. He testified he killed Horn in self-defense.