In December, a jury deliberated for less than an hour before convicting Rhodes of three murders, one count of tampering with physical evidence, and two counts of abuse of a corpse in the shooting of Christopher Jones and brutal beating and stabbings of teenage brothers Maurice Gordon and Larry Ordway.

A defense attorney and family members of Brice Rhodes asked a jury Tuesday for leniency in sentencing him on six guilty charges against him, including three murder counts.

“The Court cannot allow such a person to be subjected to the death penalty, regardless of public clamor," Judge Julie Kaelin ruled, arguing she should not be swayed by fear of criticism.

James Miller Jr. was released on "shock probation" and will be supervised by probation and parole for the next five years.

After hearing from witnesses for more than two hours, including a psychiatrist from the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center (KCPC) in La Grange who evaluated Rhodes, Judge Julie Kaelin ruled “there has been no conclusive testimony that he is incompetent.”

Rhodes' attorney asked Judge Julie Kaelin to bar the public and media from access to the hearing, saying mention of his medical issues should be private and the hearing would also include discussions of his past issues his many attorneys, which would violate attorney-client privilege.

An attorney for James Miller Jr. has a judge to release James Miller on “shock probation,” which allows low-risk offenders to ask for release between 30 and 180 days of their conviction saying they've been essentially "shocked straight" by the prison experience and learned their lesson.