DES MOINES, Iowa — The court sentenced Cristhian Bahena Rivera to life in prison Monday for the killing of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts.
Bahena Rivera was convicted of first-degree murder, resulting in a mandatory life sentence in prison without parole.
"When they say 'life' in Iowa, they mean life," said Bob Rigg, a law professor at Drake University.
Rigg said back in 1965, Iowa lawmakers wrote legislation making a life sentence without parole the mandatory sentence for cases involving premeditated homicide.
"It's a counter-argument to the death penalty," said Professor Rigg.
The death penalty was outlawed in Iowa in that same year, but this year lawmakers introduced a bill restoring the death penalty specifically for people convicted of murdering a child after raping them. The bill didn't make it far.
Professor Rigg said the only way Bahena Rivera could ever leave prison early is if Gov. Kim Reynolds commutes his life sentence.
"Notoriously, Iowa governors are real stingy on granting any kind of relief in these situations," said Professor Rigg.
A Scott County jury found Bahena Rivera, now 27, guilty of first-degree murder after a seven-day trial in late May. He was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole and ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution to Tibbetts' estate.
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