AUBURN, Maine — A Massachusetts man who was convicted of a drug-related killing in a rare retrial of a murder case in Maine faces sentencing.
Marcus Asante, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, was initially sentenced to 35 years stemming from the shooting death of Douglas Morin Jr. in Sherman. His conviction was overturned in 2020.
The state supreme court ruled that a judge made a mistake in instructions to the jurors. The murder conviction was the first to be set aside in Maine in more than 10 years.
Asante was convicted of the 2016 killing of Morin a second time in September. He’s slated for sentencing on Wednesday in an Androscoggin County courtroom. The retrial was moved to central Maine because of concerns that an unbiased jury couldn’t be seated in northern Maine.
Asante testified that he fired in self-defense during a drug deal gone wrong. Prosecutors are seeking the same 35-year sentence.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified where Douglas Morin Jr. was from.