Nunn Pleads Guilty, Sentenced to Life

A former Kentucky state lawmaker has pleaded guilty to murder for shooting his ex-fiance and was sentenced to life without parole.An attorney for former Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Nunn said the son of former Kentucky Governor Louis B. Nunn entered the plea Tuesday in Fayette County court.Nunn could have faced the death penalty if he'd been convicted in a trial that was scheduled to start in August. He was charged in the death of 29-year-old Amanda Ross, who was shot outside her Lexington home in September 2009.Police arrested Nunn not long after Ross was found dead. He was apprehended in a cemetery near his parents' graves and police said he slit his wrists and fired one shot at troopers before surrendering.In 2003, Nunn unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for governor, but lost to then-U.S. Rep. Ernie Fletcher, who went on to become the first Republican governor since Nunn's father served in 1967.Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, who was a friend of Ross' family, says he hopes this brings closure to the case and that new legislation will protect victims of domestic violence in the future."I continue to move forward to implement Amanda’s Law in the hope that we will not see anything like this repeated in the future," says Stumbo. "I strongly encourage the courts to use this law in the appropriate situations, because it’s now clear that it could have a made a difference for Amanda. We need to make sure that it does make a difference for anyone else who worries for their lives."Additional information from the Associated Press