SA killer's shorter term over provocation

A South Australian man who fatally stabbed his neighbour will not serve the mandatory jail time for murder because he was provoked, a judge has ruled.

A Supreme Court jury earlier this year found Michael Miller, 38, guilty of murdering 41-year-old Danny Coombs at Barmera, in the state's Riverland region, in February last year.

The stabbing, which happened during a street brawl, followed more than 12 months of animosity between the pair and was described to jurors by Miller as a "dreadful, unfortunate accident".

Justice David Peek on Thursday sentenced him to life in jail with a non-parole period 14 years, four months.

He ruled that a non-parole period shorter than the mandatory 20 years was justified because Miller was provoked by Mr Coombs, who attacked him with a pole.

"Coombs initiated the confrontation by twice deliberately going outside to confront you," he said.

"He then behaved in an ever-increasingly violent fashion thereafter, eventually delivering two hard blows to you."

Justice Peek said Mr Coombs' last attempt to strike Miller led to his delivery of a single, fatal stab wound.

Relatives of Mr Coombs last month remembered him as "the rock" of the family.

"You just have to wonder why another human thinks they have the right to take the law, and life of another person, into their own hands," Mr Coombs' aunt, Doreen Ward, said in a victim impact statement.

"He was a very caring man and he loved his family."