OKTIBBEHA COUNTY — A Columbus man was sentenced to life in prison Oct. 16 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.
Tyshawn Henley, 20, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2023 shooting death of Kirby Sherman, 16th Circuit District Attorney Scott Colom told The Dispatch on Wednesday.
Henley was initially charged with capital murder, before pleading to the first-degree charge. Judge Michelle Easterling delivered Henley’s life sentence, Colom said, with eligibility for parole at 65.
Sherman, 31, of Starkville, was killed on April 4, 2023, at Blake Court Townhouses at 1220 Louisville St. When officers arrived, they found Sherman unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was killed during a robbery gone wrong, Colom said.
Henley was arrested the next day by U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force.
“I think the father of the victim was very forgiving,” Colom said. “It was a powerful thing to see. He forgave him. And I think that Mr. Henley, during that sentencing … he took accountability for it in a powerful way. There’s no winners in it. Just a bad situation.”
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