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Neb. High Court Again Takes on Teen Life Sentences

Trevelle Taylor
Trevelle Taylor

(AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has, for the second straight week, addressed the issue of teenagers sentenced to life without parole.

Trevelle Taylor was 17 in 2009 when he shot and killed Justin Gaines in a gang-related dispute. In 2010, Taylor was convicted as an adult of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. While the words “life without parole” don’t appear in his sentence, the judge set no discharge date for Taylor “until the Pardons Board of the State of Nebraska commutes the sentence or offers a specific term of years.”

His attorney argued that amounts to life without parole. On Friday, the Nebraska Supreme Court agreed and ordered a new sentencing.

The U.S. Supreme Court says teenagers cannot be locked up for life without the chance of parole.

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