CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) - A Colorado man sentenced to life in prison without parole as a teenager is questioning the mandatory term given to him under resentencing.
The Denver Post reports that 38-year-old Erik Jensen was resentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in 40 years during a hearing Wednesday in Douglas County District Court in Castle Rock.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 struck down mandatory life imprisonment without parole for juvenile offenders.
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Jensen and his co-defendant were both 17 at the time of Julie Ybane’s 1998 strangulation.
Jensen’s attorneys say the law replaces one mandatory sentence with another and does not allow a judge to weigh individual merits and risk.
The judge says she cannot legally impose any other sentence.
Jensen’s family plans to appeal to Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.
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Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com
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