May 22, 2013
ATHENS, Ala. (AP) -- A Limestone County judge has sentenced a woman to life in prison following her murder conviction in the killing of an Athens man.
Reports say the sentence was handed down Wednesday, despite a tearful plea from 43-year-old defendant Lisa Mechelle Pate of Arab.
Pate was convicted of killing 59-year-old James Miller in November 2009.
Prosecutors say the two met while working at Redstone Arsenal for the Army Corp of Engineers and they began an affair.
Pate told jurors during the trial that she was trying to break off the relationship with Miller when an argument ensued at his home the night of the shooting. She said she feared for her life because Miller was armed and because she said he threatened her.
