A priest convicted of killing a nun has died in prison, The Associated Press reports.

76-year-old Gerald Robinson, who killed Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in a hospital chapel in 1980, passed away Friday morning at a Columbus, Ohio, prison hospice unit.

The priest was convicted in 2006 and was serving a 15 years to life prison sentence for his crime.

“I’m sure he’s in a better place,” Attorney Richard Kerger told The AP.

A day earlier, the dying ex-priest was denied an early release, Reuters reports.

“There is no constitutional or inherent right of a convicted person to be conditionally released before the expiration of a valid sentence,” U.S. District Judge James Gwin wrote in his decision, according to Reuters.

The AP adds that Ohio law prevents a convicted killer who is not yet up for parole from being granted compassionate release.

Robinson had suffered a heart attack in May.

Should the judge have granted Robinson’s request for an early release? Share your thoughts in the comments section.