In a post two years ago at Legal Blog Watch, I reported the murder of Gabriel Lerner, a 27-year-old Georgetown University Law School graduate who worked in the U.S. Virgin Islands as a law clerk to a Superior Court judge. Lerner was murdered on his way to bible study by two hitchhikers he picked up.

Now, one of his killers, 19-year-old John Jared Southwell, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to a report in the Virgin Islands Daily News. Southwell confessed to taking part in the crime and pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault-robbery.

Lerner, a native of Milwaukee, Wis., had moved to St. Thomas less than a year before he was killed.

As many of you know, I practiced in St. Thomas early in my career and remain a member of the Virgin Islands bar. I never met Gabriel but I nevertheless feel grief over his senseless death.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.