Attorney: DC Sniper Life Sentence Unconstitutional

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — An attorney for a man convicted of taking part in sniper shootings that left 10 people dead in the Washington area is asking a judge to toss his life sentence because he was convicted as a juvenile.

In a motion filed Friday in a Maryland county court, public defender James Johnston argues that Lee Boyd Malvo’s mandatory life sentence is illegal because the U.S. Supreme Court determined such sentences are unconstitutional for juveniles.

Malvo was convicted in Maryland and Virginia when he was 17 for his role in the 2002 sniper shootings that killed 10 people and wounded three in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. He also later admitted to shootings in other states. He’s serving a life term at the Red Onion State Prison in southwest Virginia.

Article written by Juliet Linderman, Associated Press.