CONCORD, N.H. —

A man convicted of killing a restaurant owner decades ago is getting a chance to leave prison for the first time, but he'll have to wait a little longer after a parole board denied him release on Thursday.

Eduardo Lopez Jr. was 17 years old in 1991. In his own words, he consumed large quantities of alcohol and drugs before going out to call his girlfriend at a payphone one night. After she hung up on him multiple times, he approached a stranger to ask for money.

The man, Robert Goyette, the co-owner of Nashua restaurant Country Tavern, refused to hand over any money. After an argument, Lopez said he shot and killed Goyette. He was convicted of first-degree murder in 1993 and sentenced to life without parole.

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that automatic life sentences

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