ALFRED —  A convicted killer’s life sentence for the death of his grandmother is too severe, his attorney said on Tuesday. The lawyer said the crime wasn’t “the worst of the worst.”

Derek Poulin, 29, is serving a life sentence for murder and a concurrent 30-year sentence for arson.

At the age of 23, Poulin murdered his 61-year-old grandmother, Patricia Noel, by beating her with a golf club and stabbing her about 70 times before setting fire to the Old Orchard Beach home she shared with Poulin and his father.

An attempt to get the sentence appealed in 2016 failed in Maine Supreme Court.

Poulin, through his attorney Chris Nielsen, has asked York County Superior Court to reconsider his sentence. Nielsen said the life sentence Poulin received was “cruel and unusual punishment,” as the court failed to consider Poulin’s young age and his mental health, as well as his lack of any prior criminal history.

Poulin, with a shaved head and clad in an orange prison uniform, was in court Tuesday morning for an oral hearing with Justice John O’Neil, the judge who gave him a lifetime sentence in 2015.

The punishment for murder in Maine was 25 years to life, Nielsen said. He argued a life sentence “should be reserved for the worst of the worst,” and while Poulin’s crime was egregious, it wasn’t the “worst of the worst.”

Nielsen said that Poulin was only 23 at the time of the crime, and the brain is still developing at that age.

“I think the court may have heard that today’s 28 is yesterday’s 18,” Nielsen said.

If Poulin was given a lesser sentence, the attorney said, he could leave prison and show that he had matured and become a better person.

If the current sentence stands, “he will die in prison, your honor, he will never have that opportunity,” Nielsen said.

Assistant Attorney General Donald Macomber noted that while Nielsen may argue that Poulin’s sentence is unfair, he reminded the court of the unfairness of Noel’s fate under Poulin. If Poulin committed his crime in New Hampshire, he would have likely received the death penalty, Macomber said.

“He was 23 at the time, he wasn’t 15, he wasn’t a juvenile,” said Macomber. “He was an adult in the eyes of the law.”

Macomber noted that when Poulin tried to appeal the case in 2016, Poulin failed to claim the sentence was “cruel and unusual,” and therefore Poulin’s request should be dismissed.

When he gave Poulin a life sentence in 2015, it was a very difficult decision that he struggled with, O’Neil said. He said while Poulin was young and had no criminal record, the incident was brutal. The factor that weighed heavily in his decision was Poulin’s “absence of remorse,” O’Neil said.

O’Neil will make a decision on Poulin’s request at a later date.

Poulin’s aunt and Noel’s daughter, Darcy Daniels, were among family members at Tuesday’s hearing. Daniels said it was a very emotional experience listening to Nielsen’s attorney and saying that he thought the crime wasn’t “the worst of the worst.” She said she thinks her nephew deserved the life sentence he received and believes Justice O’Neil will uphold his original decision.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.