A member of the Fort Belknap Tribes was spared the death penalty on Thursday when he was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a deputy sheriff, also a tribal member.

Laurence D. Jackson Jr. will have no chance of parole for the death of Joshua Rutherford, a Blaine County deputy. Jackson shot Rutherford on May 29, 2003, after a domestic-related call.

Jackson was sentenced to a second life term in prison without parole for wounding another deputy. The judge added a 100-year enhancement, citing Jackson's criminal past. Jackson, 28, has numerous convictions in tribal, state and federal court.

In his ruling, Judge John McKeon said certain factors warranted some leniency. He said Jackson grew up in a broken home on the Fort Belknap Reservation, suffered from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and had trouble with drugs and alcohol.

But he called Rutherford, who was 28 at the time of his death, a role model on the reservation. He said Jackson's crime took away the local community's sense of safety.

Get the Story:
Judge hands Jackson life in prison (The Great Falls Tribune 12/9)

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