Three men sentenced to life in prison for 7-year-old’s murder

MEMPHIS, Ten. — Three men convicted last month in the shooting death of a 7-year-old girl in South Memphis were sentenced Friday to life in prison plus more than 40 years, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich. Criminal Court Judge James Lammey Jr. sentenced Carlos Stokes, 25, to life in prison plus 54 years, calling him the leader in the 2015 murder of Kirsten Williams. Defendant Jordan Clayton, 24, was sentenced to life plus 46 years, and defendant Branden Brookins, 22, received life plus 44 years. Clayton was a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm. All were convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. Investigators said the child was shot on April 10, 2015, as she played in a front yard in the 2600 block of Durby Circle about eight blocks south of Lamar and Pendleton. The three defendants pulled up in a vehicle and opened fire. Prosecutors said the address of the shooting was known to the defendants and was specifically targeted by the shooters in retaliation for an earlier shooting. Witnesses quoted Stokes as saying before the shooting, “I want a body for a body.”