The man originally sentenced to death for raping, robbing and murdering Youngstown State University student Gina Tenney back in 1985, was back in court to be re-sentenced.

Convicted murderer Bennie Adams initially was not going to address the court however, Adams changed his mind and stood up and said:

"I did not kill Gina Tenney. I'm innocent of the crime."

Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Lou D'Apolito said, I have reviewed this case and "the evidence was overwhelming."

The judge then proceeded to sentence the Youngstown man to 20 years to life in prison.

It was back in 2007 when Adams was arrested for the 1985 rape, robbery and murder of the YSU student, twenty-two years after the crime.

Adams had always been a suspect, but DNA evidence preserved by Youngstown Police Detectives all those years was tested and proved to be a match.

In 2008 Adams was convicted of killing the 19-year-old YSU sophomore.

At the time of his conviction he was sentenced to death.

The Ohio Supreme Court upheld his conviction -- but dismissed the death sentence.

Last October the high court said the state failed to prove the aggravated burglary charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

That burglary conviction was needed to get a death penalty conviction.

Marty Desmond is one of the Mahoning County Assistant Prosecutors on the case, "Obviously we thought that the death sentence was the appropriate sentence otherwise we would not have sought it. But again the Supreme Court made their decision and whether we agree or disagree we respect it."

The parents of the victim passed away sometime after Adams was convicted. But in a written statement the victim's sister Rhonda Tenney Reed had this to say in a letter to the court:  "What gave you the right to take her life? Your disregard for human life is heinous, vile and evil, as are you. I watched my parents grieve for Gina for the rest of their lives. They visited her grave every single day of their lives until they could no longer do so."

Adams was escorted out of the courtroom where he will be taken back into the custody of the Ohio Bureau of Prisons. He has the right to appeal his sentence.