DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania man convicted of killing a teenage girl when he was 17 has been resentenced.
The Bucks County Courier Times reports a judge resentenced 56-year-old John Lekka to 45 years to life on Thursday. Lekka had previously been convicted of criminal homicide and sentenced to life without parole in the 1978 death of 17-year-old Diane Goeke.
Lekka’s resentencing follows a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed life sentences against juveniles as unconstitutional. Bucks County Judge Rea Boylan said she weighed Lekka’s improvement in prison against the nature of his crime.
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Lekka had testified that he helped his friend, 16-year-old Robert Buli, kill Goeke after Buli learned she was pregnant.
A resentencing hearing for Buli has been set for later this year.
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Information from: Bucks County Courier Times, https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com
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