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Delaware Supreme Court Hears Sentence Appeal of Released Killer

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DOVER, Del. (AP) - The Delaware Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the case of a killer released from prison after a judge modified her sentence.

Wednesday's arguments involve Catherine Culp, who was released from prison and began serving probation earlier this year after a Superior Court judge concluded that her model conduct and extensive rehabilitation efforts as an inmate demonstrated "extraordinary circumstances" justifying a modification of her sentence.

Prosecutors argue that the judge was barred from considering a second motion for sentence modification by Culp after an initial motion was denied in 2003.

Culp was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted in 1999 in the shooting of her boyfriend, Lee Hicks. After a judge ordered a retrial, she was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.