BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — A Beckley man was sentenced to spend 40 years in prison for shooting another man to death.

Marshall Ratliff pleaded guilty in July 2022 to murdering 23-year-old Joshua Webb on Main Street in July of 2018.

Prosecutors said Ratliff shot Webb to death outside of Executive Manor apartments because Ratliff believed Webb was looking at his girlfriend.

Raleigh County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Dimlich ordered him to serve the maximum sentence of 40 years.

Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Benjamin Hatfield argued against leniency, saying Ratliff had recently sexually harassed staff at a facility and that he had denied to others that he killed Webb, despite pleading guilty.

Initially, he had blamed a co-defendant for the shooting but later admitted to police he had pulled the trigger.

Ratliff’s attorneys asked for mercy, saying Ratliff is mentally ill.

“What a mental health expert found is that Mr. Ratliff was criminally responsible, in other words, he had the cognitive function to form the intent, to form the mens rea of the crime,” said Hatfield. “The same mental health professional found him competent to stand trial.”

Webb’s mother, Diane Webb, spoke at the hearing.

“My life ain’t never, ever going to be the same, ever again,” Webb said, fighting back tears. “He took my son away. Holidays suck. And birthdays suck, and Mother’s Day suck. I’ll never have none of that back.”

When issuing the sentence, Dimlich said Ratliff had shown no remorse or emotion when Webb spoke and that he had not taken sufficient responsibility for the violent crime.