London Williams was sentenced to maximum of 30 months probation by Associate Circuit Court Judge Gene Gross on Wednesday in Randolph County court.
He was also given credit for the six months he spent in the Randolph County Jail during pretrial proceedings.
Williams, 27, of Rockwood, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter - a Class 3 felony with a sentencing range of two to five years in prison, but was also probation eligible - by a Randolph County jury in January in connection to the death of Timothy J. "T.J." Michael at Bernasek's Bar and Grill on June 22, 2016.
Williams cut 26-year-old Michael, of Chester, twice with a 3-inch folding knife during a verbal and physical altercation at the bar. Michael later died from his injuries at Memorial Hospital of Chester.
The two were friends and former co-workers.
The jury of 10 men and two women also considered first-degree murder, second-degree murder and acquittal prior to deciding on involuntary manslaughter.
A juror, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Herald Tribune the jury spent the most time debating second-degree murder before arriving at its verdict.
While acknowledging the difficulty of the case, Gross said the lack of an extensive criminal history of Williams and state law changes to how probation is regarded for Class 3 and Class 4 felonies factored into his decision.
"I just can't sustain the findings to make a sentence to the Department of Corrections," Gross said.
Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker argued for a three-year sentence to IDOC, along with a $2,500 fine and one year of mandatory supervised release.
In August, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed Senate Bill 3164, which discourages incarceration for low-level offenders as part of the governor's plan to reduce the state's prison population by 25 percent by 2025.
The law, which took effect Jan. 1, prevents a judge from sentencing Class 3 or Class 4 offenders with no prior history of violent crimes to prison unless the judge reviews the pre-sentence report and explains why incarceration is appropriate.
Walker told media after the sentencing hearing that the law change creates a "double presumption" of probation for the two felony offenses.
"It makes it almost impossible to sentence someone to prison without prior criminal history," he said.
As conditions of Williams's probation - in addition to the $2,500 fine - he will have to undergo alcohol counseling, be subjected to random drug/alcohol testing and not be present in an establishment that serves alcohol.
In a brief statement to the court, Williams apologized for his actions and wished members of Michael's family, who declined to attend the hearing, were present so he could express his sorrow to them.
"I really am sorry this happened," he said, after telling Gross he completely understood why he was standing in front of the judge. "I think about it every day. Not a minute goes by, not a second, that I don't think about it."
Williams's defense attorney Justin Kuehn, told Gross that since the trial, Williams has gotten married and has been employed full-time at his uncle's bakery business since mid-February.
Kuehn called Williams's wife, Terra Williams, to the stand to testify on the quality of her husband's character. Terra testified that the couple - who have known each other for seven years - got married March 18 and has three children age 3 and younger.
Kuehn's defense partner, Derek Siegel, questioned Terra on London's demeanor since the trial and if a prison sentence would result in a hardship for the family.
"He's been more compassionate, I think," she said. "More caring. I think he's been there more for us than ever."
Terra noted that the couple had discussed the incident at Bernasek's.
"It's emotional to talk about, but we did talk about it," she said. "It hurts him and I see it in his eyes."
During cross-examination, Walker asked Terra how often London drank and inquired as to whether London had told her about a fight at Bernasek's a year prior to the stabbing.
"I don't remember if he did," she said.
Kuehn and Walker then discussed the factors of aggravation, most of which did not apply as Williams had only a juvenile incident and a DUI conviction in 2013 as prior evidence of delinquency or criminal behavior in his presentence report.
"There were facts in this case tending to show self-defense," Kuehn said. "Even though they fell short of self-defense at trial."
Kuehn later commented on Michael, stating "If not for his own behavior, he would probably still be alive."
Walker argued that Michael's rights had been overshadowed during the pretrial proceedings and how Michael lost everything - including the right to see his child be born.
"Was T.J. 100 percent perfect? No," Walker said. "None of us are. Those of us who believe in Christianity believe there's been only one of them and he walked the Earth two thousand, seventeen years ago."
Walker later added that he didn't think probation was a worthy punishment due to the seriousness of the offense.
"Again, we have to think that somebody lost their life," he said.
Kuehn called the stabbing a "reckless act with unintended consequences."
"There's something in human nature in that more punishment is needed because of the big bullet the defendant missed," he said.
After weighing all the arguments, Gross ultimately decided that a sentence of probation was required.
"He didn't commit murder," Gross said of Williams. "He committed involuntary manslaughter and that's what we're here to sentence on."
