BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The North Dakota Supreme Court has denied the appeal for a man serving life without parole for killing a West Fargo woman when he was 16 years old.
Justices in an opinion released Thursday upheld Judge Wade Webb’s ruling that Barry Garcia was not entitled to a new trial for the gang-related shooting death of Cheryl Tendeland in 1995.
Webb also rejected Garcia’s argument that he was entitled to a reduced sentence became of a state law that bans sentences for juveniles without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors countered that the law did not apply to Garcia because lawmakers intended it to apply only for murder convictions after the bill was passed in 2017.
Garcia is the only state inmate who was sentenced to life without parole for a crime committed as a juvenile.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.