WILLIAMSON COUNTY (WSIL) -- A man convicted in the murder of a teenager in 2001 has been resentenced in Williamson County.Â
State's Attorney Marcy Cascio-Hale announced Michael Hearn was resentenced to 33 years in prison for the murder of 15-year-old Ashleigh Sprague. His original sentence was natural life in prison.Â
Hearn had to be resentenced due to a change in the law, which requires special considerations and findings when sentencing juveniles due to their age and maturity. Hearn was 17 at the time of the murder.Â
Hearn and Sprague, 15- and 17-years-old respectively, met on June 8, 2001, when he offered her and her friends a ride. Hearn dropped the two friends off, and that was the last time that Sprague was seen alive.
Sprague was “missing� for 12 days, when Hearn admitted to his pastor that he had killed her and where the body could be found.
At the original trial, Hearn’s testimony was challenged by the autopsy findings. One officer testified that it was the worst crime scene he had ever seen.
Hearn has already spent over 20 years in prison, and once this 33-year sentence is complete, he will have to serve a 5-year-term for his attempted escape from Williamson County jail in 2002, and then a 3-year mandatory supervised release.
