article_snippet.sent: State attorneys had sought 10 and a half years in prison for the defendant, a trim, soft-spoken father of three whom neighbours described as friendly, generous and unfailingly polite.
article_snippet.sent: Lawyers representing the family of Stempniewicz, 59, had requested a 15-year sentence, usually the maximum in a murder case.
article_snippet.sent: But prosecutors said prosecutors stopped short of this demand because Stempniewicz said Stempniewicz wanted to die.
article_snippet.sent: However the defence team argue that A video shows Stempniewicz had Stempniewicz feet in constant contact with the ground, meaning Stempniewicz could have stopped the strangulation if Stempniewicz had wanted to.
highlights_snippet.sent: Defence argued victim could have stopped strangulation if Polish-born Wojciech Stempniewicz wanted to .
  
highlights_snippet.sent: Prosecutors sought lower sentence because Stempniewicz wanted to die .