Lakeith Smith Gets Reduced Sentence For Death Of Friend Killed By Cop

The now 20-year-old received the sentence when he was 15.

Lakeith Smith, the now 20-year-old black man who was sentenced to 65 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit as a teen, has had his sentence reduced.

READ: Teenager Lakeith Smith Sentenced To 65 Years For Death Of Friend Killed By Cop

In a report from the Montgomery Advertiser, Smith's reduced sentence was decided by the Court of Criminal Appeals. Per the Advertiser:

...one of Smith's 10-year sentences for a theft charge could not be run consecutively with his 15-year sentence for a first-degree burglary conviction. Elmore County Judge Sibley Reynolds moved the sentence to run concurrently, meaning Smith will complete that charge's sentence while serving time for the others.

Now, Smith's sentence has been reduced to 55 years.

Previously, Smith had asked for a new trial or at least a revisiting on his sentence, after he was charged with felony murder for the death of his friend A'Donte Washington. The incident occurred in 2015 when Smith, then 15, broke into two homes with four other teens in Millbrook, Alabama. Midway through the robbery police arrived and a shootout occurred between the teens and officers, with Washington fatally shot during the altercation. Washington allegedly charged at one of the officers with a gun.

Although Smith didn't shoot Washington, he was still charged with the murder as an adult under Alabama's accomplice liability laws. Because of the laws, Smith "is legally liable for the behavior of another who commits a criminal offense if that person aids or abets the first person in committing the offense."

Source: Montgomery Advertiser