Maryland’s highest court has ruled that Washington, D.C.-area sniper Lee Boyd Malvo must be resentenced.
via: Revolt
Lee Boyd Malvo will soon receive a new sentencing for the role that he played in the serial sniper spree that took place in Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas during the early 2000s, CNN reports.
Following crimes committed in October 2002 that left 10 people dead, Malvo was sentenced to life without parole in both the states of Maryland and Virginia. He was 17 years old at the time that he was convicted for his position as an accomplice to John Allen Muhammad, who was executed in November 2009 for his role in the shootings. Muhammad was 41 years old when the sniper attacks took place.
On Friday (Aug. 26), a Maryland appeals court ruled that Malvo must be resentenced thanks to a Supreme Court ruling that was established after his sentencing. Life without parole for youthful offenders is not permitted under the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. “If a sentencing court determines that the offender’s crime was the result of transient immaturity, as opposed to permanent incorrigibility,” wrote Judge Robert McDonald. Per reports, he revealed that it wasn’t clear that the sentencing judge in Malvo’s case reached the latter conclusion.
At this time, Malvo is serving six life sentences at the Red Onion State Prison located in Virginia. Furthermore, the judge notes that it “may be an academic question in Mr. Malvo’s case.” “He would first have to be granted parole in Virginia before his consecutive life sentences in Maryland even begin,” McDonald noted.
“We hold only that the Eighth Amendment requires that he receive a new sentencing hearing at which the sentencing court, now cognizant of the principles elucidated by the Supreme Court, is able to consider whether or not he is constitutionally eligible for life without parole under those decisions,” said McDonald. It has not yet been determined when Malvo will be resentenced.
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