A Detroit woman who drunkenly beat a friend to death with a slow cooker during an argument over presidential politics was sentenced on Monday to at least 23 years in prison.

A judge followed the recommended sentence in a plea deal between prosecutors and Tewana Sullivan, who has a history of bipolar disorder but was declared competent to go to trial.

'You might as well go ahead and execute me, because I'm not going to make it to 73,' Sullivan as at the sentencing, appearing in court wearing a jail jumper and shackles. 'I'm going to die in jail, as far as I'm concerned.'

Sullivan, 51, beat Cheryl Livy, 66, with a slow cooker at the victim's Livonia apartment in October. At the time, Sullivan's blood-alcohol level was 0.41 - five times the legal level for drunken driving in Michigan, defense attorney John McWilliams said.

Tewana Sullivan, pictured here in court in February, was sentenced to 23 years in prison for beating Cheryl Livy to death with a slow cooker in October 2014

Cheryl Livy died after being beaten by a slow cooker in October 2014. She was taken to the hospital after the incident and died two days later

'I didn't take my medication like I was supposed to, so I did mess up,' Sullivan told Wayne County Judge Michael Hathaway. 'Without me taking my medication, that was the worst thing I could ever have done.'

McWilliams had argued that the fact that his client underwent brain surgery six years ago following an aneurysm - combined with the high blood-alcohol level - could have played a role in her mental state, according to MLive.

The attorney said Sullivan and Livy were arguing about the 2016 race for president.

'One was for one major political party and the other was for the other major political party,' he said, not revealing who was on each side.

Police Officer Michael Lewallen said when he was called to the apartment on the day of the murder, he found Sullivan sobbing near her mortally injured friend and saying she was 'sorry' she 'did it', and blood all over the walls.

Livy was 'barely breathing' when she was discovered, the court heard, but died two days later in hospital from her injuries.

Sullivan, pictured here in February with attorney John McWilliams, has a history of bipolar disorder and had a blood-alcohol level of .41, five times the legal level for drunken driving in Michigan at the time of the attack

Livy's sister, said on Monday that despite the pain Sullivan has caused her family, she forgives the woman for killing her sister, according to the Detroit Free Press.

'I'm forgiving her for what she has done,' she said. 'I don't know what else to say.'

In May, facing a first-degree murder charge, Sullivan pleaded guilty but mentally ill to second-degree murder.

She will be eligible for parole after 23 years and will get mental-health care in prison. Her maximum sentence is 50 years.

'She is greatly remorseful. She's filled with guilt and shame,' McWilliams said of Sullivan, according to the Detroit News.

Sullivan said she fears she's 'not going to make it' in prison and suggested the plea deal was a mistake.

'It's a little late for that now,' the judge said.

McWilliams agreed, saying her second thoughts were 'not well-placed.'

'The likelihood of conviction of first-degree murder was great. And the state wouldn't have to give her mental-health care,' he told The Associated Press.