Oklahoma man sentenced to life in prison for killing neighbor in hate crime

A jury convicted Majors, 63, earlier this month on charges of first-degree murder, malicious intimidation and harassment, a hate crime. His sentence Tuesday was confirmed by Kim Thomas of the Tulsa County Clerk's Office.

Authorities said that in August 2016 Majors went up the front steps to his neighbor's porch and shot and killed Khalid Jabara, 37, while he was on the phone with his mother. Prosecutors said he did it because the Jabara family is from Lebanon and Majors is a hateful bigot.

Jabara's family did not attend the sentencing, saying in a prepared statement that Majors was not "worthy of any more attention."

"Unlike the Defendant, we will continue to live, surrounded by love, cherishing Khalid, ensuring his legacy lives on, and working with others to prevent hate in our communities," the statement said. "The world does not need more people like Stanley Majors, it needs less.

"With that said, we refuse to give the defendant any more of our time, energy or thought - as he simply does not deserve it. He deserves exactly what the 12 jurors unanimously recommended - to spend the rest of his days, nights, hours, and minutes in prison."

Majors had terrorized them for years, the family said.

At the time of the shooting, Majors faced hit-and-run driving charges and was out on bail.

He was accused of running down Jabara's mother, Haifa Jabara, with his car in September 2015. She suffered a brain hemorrhage, broken ribs, a broken ankle, a damaged shoulder and a broken bone in her arm.

The Jabara family previously told CNN that Majors would stand on the property line between their homes and shout, "dirty Arabs!" "Mooslems!" and "dirty Lebanese."

During the trial, Majors' team built an insanity defense. His attorneys said the case was not about hate, race or religion, but about a man so mentally ill he viewed the family next door as a threat.

Attorneys said Majors feared the Jabaras, whom he thought were Muslims, would harm him because he is gay.

The Jabaras actually were Christians who fled civil war and religious persecution in Lebanon decades ago.

Assistant District Attorney Julie Doss issued this statement after the sentencing: "With their guilty verdict, the jury sent a message by recommending a sentence which gave the maximum prison and fine punishments allowable by law for each count. Today, the judge followed that recommendation and therefore the sentence Mr. Majors received was the harshest punishment available in this case for the vile, vicious and despicable crimes he committed."