DC Sniper's Sentence Could Change With New Appeal

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Maryland steps into a Virginia appeal over the sentencing of D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo.

Malvo is serving life without parole in Virginia for the 2002 sniper murders that killed 10 people in Virginia, Maryland and D.C.

But now, that sentence could change.

In October 2002 a killing spree left six dead in Maryland and four others in Virginia and D.C.

Snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo hid in the trunk of a car and randomly shot people through a peephole.

Muhammad was executed in 2009.

Malvo, who was 17 at the time, has been serving mandatory life without parole in Virginia, but after a Supreme Court ruling on juvenile sentencing last year, the Virginia court has ordered a new sentencing hearing.

The Virginia attorney general has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn that ruling and the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center has filed an amicus brief supporting that request.

Russell Butler of the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center said they want to remind the court of the impact of Malvo's crimes.

"It doesn't impact just one person, it impacts a lot of people," Butler said. "If the Supreme Court lets this decision go there will be many people harmed. We believe that the brief is important so the Supreme Court realizes the impact of what's been done,"

The group said a resentencing hearing would violate the victim's constitutional rights of due process and force victims to relive the nightmare of their loss.

Malvo's six life sentences in Maryland stand because they are not mandatory.

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