KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Knox County man who killed a man in a bar and ate his flesh must serve at least 51 years in prison.

The Associated Press reports that jurors on Tuesday convicted Herbert Mike Merritt of first-degree murder for his June 2008 attack at the Friends Sports Bar and Grill.

Merritt, who was known as "Mad Max" to the bar's regulars, shot Anthony Laymond "Tony" Ford six times before stabbing him and carving out a piece of his chest cavity. Merritt, who is 49, thought he was eating a piece of Ford's heart, but it was a portion of the dead man's lung he ingested.

Merritt contended he suffered a psychotic break when he killed Ford and was insane. Jurors deliberated five hours before finding him guilty.

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