Kurtis Turner, who thought he would spend most, if not all, of his remaining years in prison for the 2007 shooting death of Vernell "Tanko" Marshall in New London, is starting to make plans for his eventual release, his attorney said Thursday in New London Superior Court.

Turner, 30, of New Haven was convicted by a jury in 2009 and sentenced to 60 years in prison, but the verdict was overturned last year following a series of appeals.

He was re-sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison.

His family members were in Superior Court as Turner apologized to the victim's family. He was 19 when he killed Marshall, and only this year admitted publicly that he had committed the crime.

"There are no words to convey how deeply sorry I am for the pain and sorrow I caused," Turner said. "I did not value life back then. Back then I only cared for my family and a few friends."

Turner said he is committed to bettering himself during his remaining years of incarceration.

His attorney, Vishal Garg, said Turner, whose father had died when Turner was 6, and whose mother was addicted to drugs, had shot Marshall at the direction of his older role model, Curtis McGill, who argued with Marshall the day before the shooting. In October 2008, a jury acquitted McGill of conspiring to kill Marshall. 

"His only male role model put a gun in his hand and told him to do something to protect the only person he thought of as family," Garg said.

The key piece of evidence at Turner's trial was a videotape the New London police seized from Ernie's Cafe, a Bank Street bar that since has closed, following the shooting. The video showed Turner and his accomplices walking in and out of the bar several times. The last time Turner walked out, he was seen taking something from his waistband before Marshall fell to the ground.

Marshall's sister, Lakeisha, said the crime had left a "tragic stamp" on her family and she hopes it haunts Turner for the rest of his life. She said she can't look at a picture of her brother, who was 23, without crying.

"Some say we're supposed to have forgiveness in our heart, but I don't," she said.

Tuner had turned down an offer to plead guilty in exchange for a 40-year sentence when he took his case to trial. Prosecutor Stephen M. Carney said when the case came back to him, he took into account Turner's youth at the time and the fact that he was "an underling" to McGill.

Turner had lost a direct appeal of his conviction, then sought relief through a Writ of Habeas Corpus, which is a civil proceeding that is sometimes referred to as an appeal of last resort. The case was tried before Judge Samuel Sferrazza in 2016 and the conviction was upheld. Turner's attorneys were able to take the case to the Appellate Court, arguing that Sferrazza had not applied the correct legal standard in his decision.

The Appellate Court ordered a new trial for Turner after determining he was deprived of his rights at his trial when the prosecution "failed to correct" a witness's false testimony that she did not expect consideration from the state in exchange for testifying against Turner. The woman, Alice Phillips, had an informal agreement with the state that the prosecutor in her own criminal charges pending in a lower court would be notified that she had cooperated. Phillips testified that Turner made a statement prior to the shooting that someone was going to die within 48 hours.

Phillips had a pending shoplifting case that ultimately was dismissed.

Judge Hillary Strackbein had the option of sentencing Turner to less than the 30-year "cap" agreed on via plea bargaining but imposed the full sentence. She said Turner has disciplinary tickets in prison and appears to have an anger issue. She said some crimes are fixable, but not murder. At his attorney's request, Strackbein allowed Turner to hug his mother for the first time in 11 years before he was returned to the courthouse lockup.

"You are going to have a life," the judge said. "Mr. Marshall doesn't."

k.florin@theday.com