Man who provoked judge gets life term

A Cartersville man who drew widespread attention last year a profanity-laden exchange with a judge has pleaded guilty but mentally ill to the 2015 murder of his cellmate.

Denver Fenton Allen, 33, entered the plea after Floyd County Superior Court Judge Billy Sparks denied a motion in which Allen claimed he killed Stephen Rudolph Nalley in self-defense, the Rome News-Tribune reported Monday.

Floyd County Assistant District Attorney Luke Martin told the newspaper that Allen used the killing of his much-smaller cellmate to boost his jail reputation.

Allen was sentenced to life without parole.

During a June 2016 hearing, Allen provoked Floyd County Superior Court Judge Bryant Durham into a heated and expletive-filled exchange in open court that drew national attention.

The 11-minute incident even became the subject of a comedy sketch on an episode of Adult Swim’s animated series “Rick and Morty.”

After Durham found Allen in contempt at the hearing, Allen responded, “I don’t care,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.

Durham then sentenced Allen to 20 days for contempt and said if he said anything else he’d add another 20 days for everything else.

Allen then uttered an expletive at the judge.

“Forty days,” Durham ordered.

The exchange escalated until Durham ordered Allen to serve 10 years for contempt.

The state’s judicial watchdog agency ultimately took action against Durham, although the resolution received criticism from members of Georgia’s legal community.