OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater says it was an "absolute miscarriage of justice" for a judge to reduce the sentence of a convicted killer

District Judge Kenneth Watson has changed the life without parole sentence of 43-year-old Billy Earl Parker to life with the possibility of parole.

Prater says the change circumvents the jury process.

Parker was convicted of murder in the shooting death of 16-year-old Sherman Jackson.

Watson says the reduction is the right thing to do since prosecutors at the time offered Parker a plea deal for a 25-year sentence. The judge also says a key witness in the case was unavailable so the testimony was read from a transcript.

Parker still must serve 85% of the sentence which is about 38 years and won't be eligible for parole until he's nearly 81.