The Venezuelan man convicted of killing Georgian nursing student Laken Riley has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole – after prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty.

Jose Ibarra, 26, was found guilty of all charges against him, including one count of malice murder and three counts of murder, by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard. Ibarra had waived his right to a jury trial, so only Haggard heard and decided the case.

The Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office announced before Ibarra’s trial that it would not seek the death penalty. District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, a progressive Democrat, faced criticism from Republicans over the decision in a case that became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration during this year’s presidential race.

On Wednesday, Haggard gave Ibarra the maximum sentence he could receive. Prosecutors said Ibarra encountered Riley, 22, while she was running on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22 and killed her during a struggle.

In May, Gonzalez told local media: “Our greatest duty is to ensure that justice is served and that the victim’s family is an integral part of the deliberation process.

“We understand that there will be those outside this office who will disagree with our decision and will seek to exploit this case for political gain. However, the integrity of our judicial process and the pursuit of justice must always transcend political considerations.”

Gonzalez, who appointed a special prosecutor for Ibarra in February, lost her bid for re-election to Republican Kalki Yalamanchili in a landslide earlier this month.

Gonzalez’s office and prosecutor Sheila Ross have been contacted by email for comment Newsweek.

Gonzalez committed never to seek the death penalty after being elected district attorney in 2020.

A copy of Gonzalez’s policy shared on social media by Georgia State Rep. Houston Gaines, says: “Cases legally eligible for the death penalty are eligible for life sentences without parole and life sentences with parole after serving thirty years. Both sentences Decisions to seek the sentence of life in prison without parole constitute a death sentence in prison.”

The policy also states that her office would “consider collateral consequences for undocumented suspects” when making charging decisions.

Republican lawmakers were outraged that Ibarra would not be sentenced to death.

“If there was ever a case where the death penalty was appropriate, this is it,” Gaines wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote that Ibarra “deserves the death penalty. Just as Laken’s mother Allyson asked the judge, Laken’s evil killer deserves exactly what he gave to Laken.”

Georgia State Senator Colton Moore urged the attorney general to intervene.

“I officially call on Attorney General Chris Carr to file an emergency motion to intervene and seek the death penalty for Laken Riley’s killer,” Moore wrote on X.

“Prosecutor Deborah Gonzalez allowed her radical political agenda to get in the way of justice. By refusing to seek the death penalty, she denied Laken’s family, friends and community the full measure of justice they deserve.”

Carr praised lawmakers for securing a conviction in the case on social media. “We are grateful to Sheila Ross of the Board of Prosecuting Attorneys for helping to secure a conviction and we will continue to pray for all who knew and loved Laeken.”

Lawmakers and Carr’s office have been contacted via email for further comment.

President-elect Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden’s immigration policies for Riley’s death and repeatedly raised her killing during his campaign, where he vowed to launch the largest deportation program in U.S. history in a second term. Ibarra entered the US illegally in 2022 and was allowed to remain in the country while pursuing his immigration case.

Trump welcomed Ibarra’s sentence in a post on his Truth Social platform, writing that “while the pain and heartbreak will last forever, hopefully this can help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family.”

He added: “It is time to secure our border and remove these criminals and thugs from our country so something like this cannot happen again!”

Georgian law “never requires prosecutors to seek a death sentence, even if someone commits a heinous crime,” Robin Maher, executive director of the nonpartisan Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), told me. Newsweek.

“Prosecutors have an enormous amount of discretion to decide which crimes and which suspects deserve a possible death sentence. A number of factors, including the suspect’s physical and mental health, and aspects of the crime, will influence their decision.

“In this case, prosecutors have apparently decided that if Mr. Ibarra is convicted, he can be adequately punished without seeking a possible death sentence. That decision is consistent with the law and their authority.”

She said that while it is not known how often Georgia prosecutors decide to seek the death penalty because information on the total number of cases eligible for death is not public, the state has not secured any new death sentences in 2024.

According to the DPIC, Georgia has executed 76 men and one woman since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

The state carried out its first execution in more than four years in March, when Willie James Pye was put to death by lethal injection. There are currently 34 inmates on death row in Georgia, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. The most recent addition to Georgia’s death row was Tiffany Moss, convicted of starving her 10-year-old stepdaughter to death in 2019.

Update 11/21/24, 8:15am ET: This article has been updated with comments from Robin Maher.