(AP) — A Sedgwick County judge has ruled that a special jury will determine if a Wichita man should receive a Hard 50 prison sentence for killing his girlfriend.

District Judge William Woolley said a law passed in September by Kansas lawmakers can be applied to the case of Anson Bernhardt, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2012 stomping death of 38-year-old Amber Kostner.

Woolley says in his written ruling that the new state law applies to this case, and the state may seek to impose the Hard 50 retroactively on Bernhardt.

Prosecutors originally wanted Woolley to impose the Hard 50 sentence on Bernhardt, but that was blocked by a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said juries must make factual findings that increase a mandatory minimum sentence.