Colorado man asks for — and gets — maximum sentence for stabbing

A 62-year-old man who pleaded guilty to attempted murder after stabbing two men with a knife in the Grand Junction area was granted his request for a sentence that will send him to prison for life.

John Merell Siviter was sentenced 32 years in prison on Friday in Mesa County District Court.

The Daily Sentinel reports he was arrested June 10 by police officers who found him holding a large silver knife in a yard, with two victims on the ground nearby with stab wounds to their torsos.

Siviter pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder, which came with a potential sentence of 10 to 32 years in prison. Siviter requested and received the maximum sentence during an appearance before District Judge Brian Flynn.

The victims did not appear in court.