Lancaster man who claimed ‘stand your ground’ gets 10 years in 2013 killing

A Lancaster man who tried to get his case thrown out of court on a stand your ground defense was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday after a jury found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

Allen Massey, 27, shot Demarcus Robinson in 2013. Massey had previously tried to have the case dismissed by claiming the shooting was legal under South Carolina's stand your ground law, but a judge denied that claim.

Prosecutors tried this week during a five-day trial to convict Massey of murder, but the jury returned the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter, said Randy Newman, 6th Circuit Solicitor.

Prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence of 30 years that manslaughter carries, but the judge, Thomas Cooper, sentenced Massey to 10 years, plus five years probation.

This story was originally published August 8, 2015 at 8:28 AM with the headline "Lancaster man who claimed ‘stand your ground’ gets 10 years in 2013 killing."