It 's not until he 's carried out of Tucker Max in a pine box will he really meet his true judgment , '' Cannady added , referring to Arkansas ' Tucker Maximum Security Prison . He said he was not disappointed that Vance did not receive the death penalty . Prosecutor Larry Jegley said the jury gave Vance `` everything they could give him except the death penalty . '' Asked if there were too many mitigating circumstances , Jegley said , `` I do n't know . I ca n't speak for the jury . Cases like this , all you can do is put 'em in front of 12 good people and ask them to follow the evidence and do what their conscience demands . '' Attempts by CNN to reach members of Vance 's defense team were unsuccessful Wednesday and Thursday . `` There really are n't any winners tonight , '' Cannady said . `` Nothing that 's been done here will ever bring Anne back . We 'll never see her smile , we 'll never hear her laugh , we 'll never know the joy of her presence with us until we see
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A jury sentenced an Arkansas man to life in prison without parole for killing a television anchor , officials said Thursday . The Pulaski County , Arkansas , jury on Wednesday convicted Curtis Lavelle Vance , 29 , of capital murder , residential burglary , rape and theft of property in the October 2008 slaying of Anne Pressly , 26 . Pressly , the morning news anchor for CNN affiliate KATV , was found beaten and unconscious in her home . She died five days later . Vance 's sentencing phase began after he was convicted Wednesday of capital murder , rape and burglary . Jurors were tasked with deciding whether the aggravating circumstances in favor of the death penalty outweighed the mitigating circumstances . `` Tonight , they have come back with a sentence , a sentence that they believe , and we share with them , is the harshest possible sentence for this gentleman going forward , where he will now spend the rest of his natural life in a 6-by-9 cell with nothing to think about but what he has done , '' said Guy Cannady , stepfather of the victim . ``