FILE – In this Oct. 20, 2003 file photo, Lee Boyd Malvo listens to court proceedings during the trial of fellow sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad in Virginia Beach, Va. An attorney for Malvo, convicted as a teenager of taking part in deadly sniper attacks that terrorized the Washington area will argue before a Maryland judge that his young client’s life sentence is unconstitutional and should be thrown out. (AP Photo/Martin Smith-Rodden, Pool, File)
A new law in Virginia is throwing out the D.C. sniper case from the Supreme Court docket. The justices were set to rule whether Lee Boyd Malvo deserved a new sentence for the crime he committed as a teen.
The court heard the case back in October to determine whether Malvo should be resentenced for his conviction as one of two snipers who terrorized the DMV area and killed 10 people. He was 17 at the time and sentenced to a life in prison without parole.
His attorneys argued he deserved a new hearing because of other Supreme Court rulings barring mandatory life sentences for juveniles.
The law passed in Virginia made juveniles eligible to be considered for parole after serving 20 years of their sentence. This makes Malvo eligible for parole, meaning his case no longer needs to be reconsidered by the Supreme Court.
The Commonwealth agreed to dismiss the case if Malvo did not seek a new sentence. He is also serving six life-without-parole terms in Maryland.
Malvo was 17 when he and John Allen Muhammad went on their sniper spree, killing 10 people in the Washington area. They targeted victims going about their daily business: shopping, getting gas and mowing the lawn. Muhammad, who was 41 at the time of the shootings, was sentenced to death and executed in 2009.
