Relevant as one of the first major cases to be adjudicated and sentenced following recent Supreme Court decisions regarding the sentencing of youthful offenders. Mandatory life sentences have been prohibited and Judges must now consider all factors in sentencing.
Previously, this individual would likely have gotten a mandatory life sentence without possibility of parole.
However, as the article indicates, this individual could be eligible for parole in as few as 18 years.
Not really enough, given the premeditated nature of the attack, but it is going to take a while for States to reconfigure their juvenile sentencing schemes to comport with this Supreme Court decision, yet provide meaningfully long sentences.
I imagine Colorado will take action to ensure that a similar offender faces a longer minimum term to parole in the future.
