An Ohio judge upheld a jury's decision to execute a 19-year-old killer, making him the youngest person on death row in the state.

On Thursday, a Warren Country judge sentenced Austin Myers to the death penalty for his role in the premeditated murder of 18-year-old Justin Back in Jan.

According to Judge Donald Oda, Myer's lack of remorse for killing the teen was one of the mitigating factors that he considered when making the decision.

Myers, along with 19-year-old Timothy Mosley, devised a plan to rob Back's home in Waynesville and kill him. The two then two men broke into Back's home on Jan. 28. However, there was a physical confrontation that resulted in Mosley fatally stabbing Back over 20 times.

Myers was found guilty on Oct. 1 of aggravated murder, kidnapping and other counts. However, Mosley took a plea deal and testified against Myers. As a result, he is not facing the death penalty and will be sentenced on Friday.

"We believe the sentence was just based on what he did," said Warren County Prosecutor David 
Fornshell to Reuters.

However, advocates who want to abolish capital punishment say it could take decades before Myers is executed, if at all.

"These are the kinds of cases that languish in the appeals process for years," said Kevin Werner, executive director for Ohioans to Stop Executions.

Shortly after Myers received his sentence, Back's mother, Sandra Crates, read a statement, saying "We will never be able to see his full potential as a sailor, husband and a father. Justin's family doesn't have the opportunity to get a phone call or a letter. Nothing will bring Justin home. But we feel justice has been served," reports WCPO.

She added, "Never would we have thought that this could happen to our family. There will always be a definite hole in our lives without Justin there to fill it."