Given Life as a Teen, Ex-Gang Member Gets Resentenced

Attorneys for a Pennsylvania man who was a 14-year-old gang member when he shot and killed another teenager in 2006 are due in court Thursday to argue their client deserves a chance at freedom some day.

The state Supreme Court ordered a resentencing hearing for Qu'eed Batts in the wake of a 2012 ruling by the nation's highest court that mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Judges and juries still have discretion to put young killers away for good, but they must take into account the defendant's age, the nature of the crime and other potentially mitigating circumstances.

Northampton County prosecutors say Batts should die behind bars.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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