Indiana court throws out murder convictions for three of the Elkhart Four
Court overturned case of unarmed teens sentenced to 55 years in prison after their friend was shot dead by a homeowner whose house they burgled
The Indiana supreme court has thrown out the “felony murder” convictions of three of the Elkhart Four, overturning the bizarre situation in which unarmed teenagers who had no intention of killing anybody and who did not pull the trigger were sentenced to 55 years in prison after one of their friends was shot dead by a homeowner whose house they had burgled.
The highest court in the state on Friday stripped out the contentious “felony murder” conviction for Blake Layman, now 19, Anthony Sharp, 21, and Levi Sparks, 20, stating that none of the three had ever engaged in any “dangerously violent and threatening conduct”.
The judges reduced the convictions to simple burglary and ordered the lower courts to resentence the prisoners accordingly.
The case of the Elkhart Four has caught the imaginations of people across the United States and around the world as one of the most egregious examples of the “felony murder” phenomenon. The crime exists on the statute books of 46 states, 11 of which allow people to be prosecuted even though they were the victims, not the perpetrators, of a shooting.
More bizzareness: Indiana court throws out murder convictions for three of the Elkhart Four | US news | The Guardian
Court overturned case of unarmed teens sentenced to 55 years in prison after their friend was shot dead by a homeowner whose house they burgled
The Indiana supreme court has thrown out the “felony murder” convictions of three of the Elkhart Four, overturning the bizarre situation in which unarmed teenagers who had no intention of killing anybody and who did not pull the trigger were sentenced to 55 years in prison after one of their friends was shot dead by a homeowner whose house they had burgled.
The highest court in the state on Friday stripped out the contentious “felony murder” conviction for Blake Layman, now 19, Anthony Sharp, 21, and Levi Sparks, 20, stating that none of the three had ever engaged in any “dangerously violent and threatening conduct”.
The judges reduced the convictions to simple burglary and ordered the lower courts to resentence the prisoners accordingly.
The case of the Elkhart Four has caught the imaginations of people across the United States and around the world as one of the most egregious examples of the “felony murder” phenomenon. The crime exists on the statute books of 46 states, 11 of which allow people to be prosecuted even though they were the victims, not the perpetrators, of a shooting.
More bizzareness: Indiana court throws out murder convictions for three of the Elkhart Four | US news | The Guardian