STEUBENVILLE — An Amsterdam man was sentenced to life in prison last week after he pleaded guilty to murdering his cellmate in the Jefferson County jail more than a year ago.

At a sentencing Thursday, Common Pleas Judge Michelle Miller told Ronald Dexter Smith, 43, he will have to spend at least 15 years behind bars without parole.

Smith admitted strangling 65-year-old Daniel T. Drake in the cell they shared in the Jefferson County Justice Center.

Drake was found dead in his jail cell on Oct. 18, 2023, and an autopsy subsequently concluded he’d been strangled. Smith, who had been booked into the jail for allegedly violating a protection order issued in Wintersville county court, was the only other occupant of the cell.

Smith was on his bed reading before the murder and after, continued to read until his cellmate’s body was discovered by jail staff.

Drake was in custody for missing a hearing, with an additional charge of escape because he allegedly walked away from the hospital after being told he was not free to leave.

“This was such a senseless killing, and the defendant deserved the maximum punishment available under Ohio law,” county Prosecutor Jane Hanlin said. “The victim did nothing to provoke this attack, and we are satisfied that Mr. Smith was sentenced to life in prison.”