Berry sentenced to life for murder

Pearson said Berry will have to serve 85 percent of the term before he is eligible for parole. That means he will be eligible for parole in about 25 years.

“That just makes him eligible, it doesn’t mean he will get it,” Pearson said.

Pearson said the state considers a life term as 30 years.

Berry pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in front of Judge Gael D. Wood in Franklin County Circuit Court in Union. The case was transferred to Union on a change of venue from Dent County.

Berry appeared in front of Judge Wood after being transported there from the Dent County Jail,

Pearson said Berry was brought back to Dent County Thursday and was to be transported to the Department of Corrections.

Berry pleaded on a plea agreement.

The main difference between first and second-degree murder is premeditation, Pearson said.

The case had been set for trial Dec. 14.

Pearson said Berry also has a felony charge of possession of a dangerous weapon, a razor blade, in the Dent County Jail pending against him in Dent County Circuit Court. That case is set for trial Jan. 25.