NASHVILLE (AP) — The state Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence for a Memphis-area man in a 3-2 decision.

The state's highest court agreed unanimously that Corinio Pruitt was guilty of the 2005 murder of 79-year-old Lawrence Guidroz, who died a day after he was thrown to the ground by Pruitt in the process of stealing his car outside an Apple Market.

Justice Janice Holder wrote the majority opinion in favor of upholding the death penalty, while Justices Bill Koch and Sharon G. Lee dissented.

Koch and Lee said the death penalty should be reserved for the most heinous murders and most dangerous criminals, arguing that life without parole would be the more appropriate penalty.