40 year old Ray Tate of Hopkinsville Kentucky formerly a resident of Lawrence County was sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday in Wayne County Circuit Court. He had entered a guilty plea to a charge of First Degree Murder as part of a negotiated agreement for the shooting death of Wayne County Sheriffs Deputy Sean Riley late in December of 2021. The sentencing hearing lasted three hours. Tate has 30 days to make a written appeal of the sentence. The life sentence begins immediately and Tate was remanded back into the custody of the Jefferson County Illinois Sheriffs Department for transfer to the Department of Corrections. In a related note, Deputy Riley will be among those law enforcement officers in Illinois killed in the line of duty honored at the annual Illinois Peace Officers Memorial on Thursday may 5th in Springfield.