Dennis Dechaine, 54, was ready to go to trial on Tuesday. The jury was waiting in Knox County Superior Court when Dechaine had a change of heart and pleaded no contest.

Dechaine overdosed on morphine in April 2010 in what he said was a suicide attempt. He was then charged with trafficking drugs and unlawful possession of morphine.

Tuesday, the trafficking charge was dropped and Superior Court Justice William Brodrick handed down a three-month sentence and $400 fine. The sentence will be served separately from his life sentence for murder, which Dechaine is currently contesting using DNA evidence.