The matriarch of a wealthy South Florida family gave an emotional and at times contentious statement as she was sentenced to life in prison in the hired killing of her former son-in-law.

Last month, a jury convicted Donna Adelson for her role in the 2014 murder-for-hire of Daniel Markel, and on Monday, she was allowed to speak before her sentencing in a Tallahassee courtroom.

The 75-year-old swore she was innocent in the killing of Markel, a prominent Florida State University law professor who was locked in a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife, Adelson's daughter, when he was gunned down in 2014 at his home in Tallahassee.

Fighting through tears while shackled and dressed in a purple jail jumpsuit, Adelson cast her trial as a miscarriage of justice, overseen by a jury she said was

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