Life for Killer Kids Not Unreasonably Harsh: Court

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals says sentencing juvenile convicted killers to life in prison without parole is not unreasonably harsh.

Chris Joshua Meadoux was 16 at time of a 2007 double slaying in San Antonio.

A jury sentenced the Hurricane Katrina evacuee to life in prison without parole for his capital murder conviction in the killing of 17-year-old Johnny You and 19-year-old Luis Martinez during a fight.

Meadoux and You were friends in Slidell, La., before their families evacuated after the 2005 hurricane.

The Austin American-Statesman reports an appeals court said Wednesday that juveniles may be less morally culpable, but some actions justify the penalty.

The 2009 Legislature approved a ban, which is non-retroactive, on no-parole sentences for those who committed murder while younger than 18.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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