(CARTHAGE) – The man charged with killing eight people at a Moore County nursing home was found guilty Saturday of eight counts of second degree murder, which means he will not face the death penalty.

47 year old Robert Kenneth Stewart was charged in connection with the March 2009 shooting spree at a Carthage nursing home. On each count, he was sentenced to serve a minimum of 189 months and a maximum of 236 months. His sentences will run one after another, so he was sentenced to prison for 126 to 157 years on the murders alone. His attorneys plan an appeal

The jury deliberated for about 10 hours over two days, before deciding Stewart was responsible for shooting to death seven elderly nursing home residents and a nurse at Pinelake Health & Rehabilitation Center.  But, the jury did not convict on first-degree murder which could have a carried a death penalty.  The jury’s decision was announced shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday.

The victims were 98-year-old Louise DeKler, 78-year-old John Goldston, 89-year-old Lillian Dunn, 78-year-old Bessie Hedrick, 88-year-old Jesse Musser, 89-year-old Margaret Johnson, 75-year-old Tessie Garner and 39-year-old Jerry Avant, a nurse at the facility.

Second-degree murder means the jury did not find he had the necessary intent and premeditation for a first-degree murder conviction.