NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A judge has ruled that a Louisiana inmate who, decades ago, was given a life sentence without parole as a juvenile should have a chance to seek his freedom.
NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune (https://bit.ly/2bpF416 ) reports Orleans Criminal District Judge Tracey Flemings-Davillier ruled Wednesday that 40-year-old Shon Williams deserves an opportunity to receive parole.
Williams was 17 when he fired 10 shots in a New Orleans schoolyard in 1993, killing 15-year-old student Gerald Dordain.
Prisoner advocate Norris Henderson testified that Williams has been rehabilitated and regularly volunteers at the Louisiana State Penitentiary’s hospice program.
Williams’ hearing came because of a landmark 2012 decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court found mandatory life sentences for juvenile offenders to be cruel and unusual punishment.
It is unclear when Williams can have a chance at parole.
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Information from: The Times-Picayune, https://www.nola.com
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