Crime

D.C. Sniper Has Life Sentences Thrown Out

Lee Boyd Malvo was 17 when he was convicted for killing 10 people and injuring three others.

D.C. Sniper Has Life Sentences Thrown Out
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Lee Boyd Malvo, who committed the Washington, D.C., sniper shootings, will receive new sentencing hearings after a U.S. district judge threw out several of his life sentences.

Malvo and John Allen Muhammad killed 10 people and injured three others in a series of sniper shootings in October 2002. Muhammad was executed in 2009 for his role in the attacks. Malvo was given life sentences by courts in Virginia and Maryland.

The two were also charged or considered suspects in a number of other crimes, including murders, leading up to the sniping spree.

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But Malvo was 17 at the time, making him a minor. And in 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled sentencing minors to life without the possibility of parole is unconstitutional.

The district judge's ruling voids Malvo's convictions in two courts in Virginia. But, he could still be re-sentenced to life in prison. His lawyers are also challenging his life sentences in Maryland.