Court: Life without parole for juveniles unconstitutional
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A split Washington Supreme Court has ruled that sentencing juveniles to life without parole is unconstitutional.
In a 5-4 ruling Thursday, the majority affirmed a Court of Appeals ruling in the case of Brian Barrett, who was convicted in 1996 of three charges of aggravated first-degree murder for fatally shooting his parents and drowning his 5-year-old brother in a bathtub the year before.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 ruled that it was unconstitutional for juveniles to receive automatic sentences of life without the possibility of parole.