The man convicted in the 2015 murder of Michael Peoples in Limestone County had his conviction affirmed by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, according to officials.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed on Friday the murder conviction of Benjamin Cordell Waddle, 30. Waddle was convicted in Limestone County Circuit Court in August 2018 for the murder of Michael Peoples.

The evidence at trial showed Waddle and Peoples visited the home of Thomas Smith on Aug. 3, 2015, to rehearse a rap music act, according to a release from Marshall’s office.

Waddle and Peoples got into an argument in Smith’s den, which culminated with Waddle pulling a large, military-style knife from a sheath on his side and stabbing Peoples in the back, shoulder and hand, according to the AG’s statement.

Peoples died from those wounds a short time later.

The statement said despite Waddle’s claim the stabbing was in self-defense, evidence showed Waddle stabbed Peoples in the back, he did not see Peoples with a weapon and Peoples had not made an overt threatening action toward Waddle.

According to Limestone County sheriff’s investigators at the time of the murder, Waddle and Peoples had been smoking marijuana when they got into an argument over who had the most money. First responders arrived on the scene to find Waddle tending to Peoples’ wounds.

In November 2018, Limestone County Circuit Court Judge Robert Baker sentenced Waddle to 40 years. Waddle sought to have his conviction reversed on appeal this year.

The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm the conviction. The Court did so in a decision issued Sept. 13.