New Year Will Bring Sentence In '09 Kidnap-Murder

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) - A judge will decide early next year whether two young men will stay in prison forever for the abduction and slaying of a Macomb County man who was at a sub shop.

Judge Diane Druzinski heard final arguments Friday. Attorneys for Ihab Masalmani and Robert Taylor say they should be given a chance at parole.

Masalmani and Taylor were convicted of killing Matt Landry, whose body was found in 2009 in a burned-out Detroit house. Because they were under 18 at the time, they can't automatically be given a no-parole sentence for first-degree murder.

The judge heard testimony about troubled childhoods and the men's potential for change. But prosecutor Bill Cataldo says Masalmani and Taylor deserve a no-parole sentence.
© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.