WASHINGTON: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that its 2012 decision that barred mandatory life sentences without parole for those under age 18 at the time they committed a crime can be applied retroactively.
The court, on a 6-3 vote, ruled for a Louisiana man challenging his sentence of life in prison without parole for killing a police officer at age 17.
In a ruling that will affect other inmates in similar positions, the court sided with Henry Montgomery, who was convicted of killing a white sheriff’s deputy in 1963 in East Baton Rouge at a time when racial tensions were boiling over. Montgomery is black.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)
Reuters
