Molly Martens and her father Tom could spend as little as seven further months behind bars for the manslaughter of her husband Jason Corbett.
The 39 year old Limerick man was beaten to death in his home in North Carolina in August 2015.
In his ruling yesterday, Judge David Hall imposed a sentence of between 51 months and a maximum of 74 months, but they will receive credit for the 44 months they have already served in prison.
Irish Times journalist Martin Wall was covering the case in the US and explains the reasoning behind the sentences:
"He had said he would give them some mitigation. He pointed to Mr. Martin's service as an FBI agent and his work with the defense and energy industries in the US and gave him some credit for that, but then sentenced them, as I say, to an additional between 7 months and 2 and a half years in prison."
