A federal appeals court on Thursday agreed to throw out the four life sentences that Lee Boyd Malvo received for his role in the 2002 sniper shootings that occurred in Virginia when he was 17.
The unanimous ruling from the three-judge panel cites a Supreme Court decision in 2012 that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juveniles. The court made that decision retroactive in 2016.
Barring an appeal to the Supreme Court, Malvo would face new sentencing hearings in two jurisdictions in Virginia. He pleaded guilty in Spotsylvania County and agreed to two life sentences without parole, and was convicted by a jury in Chesapeake and also sentenced to two life sentences.
All four sentences have been vacated; the murder convictions still stand.
