Supreme Court To Take Up D.C. Sniper Case, Raising Issue Of Sentencing Minors
Of interest? The 17 year old convicted as one of the DC snipers, Lee Boyd Malvo is appealing his life sentence to the Supreme Court. The link above goes a 2012 piece from NPR that describes the after effects of the attempted murder of a restaurant owner by Lee Boyd Malvo, who fired five shots into the man's car before stealing 3500 dollars and a laptop.
Here is the relevant chain of events from Wikipedia's page on Lee Boyd Malvo, emphasis mine:
Several articles note that if Malvo ever is released, he still faces trial in several states for murders that he and John Allen Muhammad committed on the way to D.C..
So which way do you think the Supremes will fall on this?
fwiw,
guac.
Of interest? The 17 year old convicted as one of the DC snipers, Lee Boyd Malvo is appealing his life sentence to the Supreme Court. The link above goes a 2012 piece from NPR that describes the after effects of the attempted murder of a restaurant owner by Lee Boyd Malvo, who fired five shots into the man's car before stealing 3500 dollars and a laptop.
Here is the relevant chain of events from Wikipedia's page on Lee Boyd Malvo, emphasis mine:
On May 26, 2017, a federal district court judge in Virginia overturned Malvo's sentences of life without parole on the grounds that it was unconstitutional under Miller v. Alabama because Malvo was 17 years old at the time of the killings. However, on August 16, 2017, Montgomery County, Maryland Circuit Court Judge Robert Greenberg decided that the Virginia federal court ruling did not apply to the Maryland cases since the sentences were not mandatory in the state of Maryland. Greenberg wrote, "The six consecutive life-without-parole sentences were imposed after a full consideration of Defendant's physical, mental, and emotional state". He went on to state that the judge who imposed the original sentence "considered all relevant factors at play and the plain import of his words at the time was that Defendant is 'irreparably corrupted.'"
On June 21, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit unanimously upheld a lower court's decision that Malvo's sentences of life without parole were unconstitutional. Judge [Paul V. Niemeyer] wrote in the decision that "Malvo was 17 years old when he committed the murders, and he now has the retroactive benefit of new constitutional rules that treat juveniles differently for sentencing." A spokesperson for Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring stated the office is considering asking for a full 4th Circuit rehearing, or appealing to the Supreme Court of the United States to hear the case.
On June 29, 2018, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said in a statement that his office was seeking to have the Supreme Court of the United States review the case. On March 18, 2019, the Supreme Court granted certiorari, and will likely hear the case during its fall term.
On June 21, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit unanimously upheld a lower court's decision that Malvo's sentences of life without parole were unconstitutional. Judge [Paul V. Niemeyer] wrote in the decision that "Malvo was 17 years old when he committed the murders, and he now has the retroactive benefit of new constitutional rules that treat juveniles differently for sentencing." A spokesperson for Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring stated the office is considering asking for a full 4th Circuit rehearing, or appealing to the Supreme Court of the United States to hear the case.
On June 29, 2018, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said in a statement that his office was seeking to have the Supreme Court of the United States review the case. On March 18, 2019, the Supreme Court granted certiorari, and will likely hear the case during its fall term.
So which way do you think the Supremes will fall on this?
fwiw,
guac.
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