North Carolina man sentenced to 40 years for Greenwood murder after staging fake self-defense scene

Greenwood, SC – A North Carolina man convicted of shooting a woman in the head and attempting to stage the scene to appear as self-defense has been sentenced to 40 years in prison, prosecutors announced Friday.

Wilson Justice Xavier Smith, 27, was found guilty by a Greenwood County jury of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime following a two-week trial and more than 10 hours of deliberation. Circuit Judge Donald B. Hocker sentenced Smith to 40 years on the murder count and five years on the weapon charge, to run concurrently. Under South Carolina law, Smith must serve the sentence day-for-day without the possibility of parole....