New court ruling could mean possible parole for teen killers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling could mean two men convicted of murders in Kentucky as teenagers could become eligible for parole hearings or new sentencing hearings.

The Courier-Journal reports (cjky.it/1SZfJv6) the court ruled Jan. 25 that its 2012 decision banning mandatory life-without-parole sentences for virtually all juvenile killers must be applied retroactively.

Sophal Phon’s lawyer, Renee Vandenwallbake, recently asked the Kentucky Court of Appeals to apply the ruling to Phon’s case. Phon was sentenced to life without parole for a 1996 murder committed when he was 16-years-old.

In 2003, Gov. Paul Patton commuted Kevin Stanford’s sentence from death to life without parole for a 1981 murder committed when Stanford was 17-years-old.

Stanford’s lawyer, Tim Arnold, didn’t say whether Stanford would seek a parole hearing or a new sentence.

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Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.