Washington Supreme Court OKs virtual life term for teen
SEATTLE (AP) — One year after saying virtual life sentences are unconstitutional for teenage killers, the Washington Supreme Court changed course Thursday in a split ruling that drew irate dissents from four justices.
The 5-4 decision was a striking departure for a court that in recent years has steadily embraced research showing that juveniles' brain development typically makes them less culpable than adults, and which has made significant efforts to undo the impact of racial bias in the criminal justice system.
“The majority rewrites our jurisprudence to profoundly limit the protection we have found our state constitution gives to children,” Chief Justice Steven González wrote in his dissent.
The court upheld a 61-year sentence for Tonelli Anderson, a Black man who was 17 when he shot two women, killing one of them and blinding the other, during a drug robbery in Tukwila in 1994. An accomplice shot and killed a man in the same home.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/washington-supreme-court-oks-virtual-life-term-for-teen/ar-AA11CH6v
