Man Serving Life Sentence Loses Appeal

Randall Cooper Jr.

JACKSON, Miss. (WCBI-TV) – A man serving a life sentence for first-degree murder lost his appeal Tuesday.

The Mississippi Court of Appeals upheld a grand jury’s guilty verdict for Randall Cooper Jr. for the 2013 shooting death of Virgil Harris on Columbus’ northside.

His attorney argued for a lighter sentence, saying that Cooper committed the crime in the “heat of passion” and in self-defense. The attorney said after Harris made threats, Cooper had reason to believe that Harris had a gun.

Cooper was 23 when he was sentenced in 2015 in Lowndes County.