U.S. Supreme Court tackles sentencing appeal in 'D.C. Sniper' case
By Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday wrestled with whether a man serving life in prison over his role in a deadly 2002 shooting spree in the Washington area should be resentenced because he was only 17 years old at the time of the so-called D.C. Sniper crimes.
The nine justices heard a one-hour argument in an appeal filed by the state of Virginia objecting to a lower court's decision ordering that Lee Boyd Malvo's sentence of life in prison without parole be thrown out because his age at the time of the crimes was not taken into account during sentencing.
If Malvo prevails, he and other prison inmates in similar cases involving certain crimes committed by minors could receive new sentencing hearings in which judges would consider whether their youth at the time of the offense is a reason for a more lenient sentence.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)
