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CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Supreme Court has overturned the sentence of a Cheyenne teenager who killed another man with a point-blank shot in the head.
The Casper Star-Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2wCOp2N ) that the court ruled Thursday that Phillip Sam's sentence was unconstitutional because it amounted to life without the possibility of parole.
Sam was 16 years old when he killed 19-year-old Tyler Burns in a Cheyenne park on Oct. 5, 2014. Sam was convicted of first-degree murder and 12 other charges and sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 25 years, plus three concurrent sentences of at least nine years each.
Sam's case will be sent back to district court for resentencing.
The court rejected several other appeal arguments.
Justice Keith Kautz dissented on the sentencing decision.
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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com
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