Appeals Court Blocks For Now New Sentencing For DC Sniper

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – A federal appeals court is temporarily blocking an order that would grant new sentencing hearings to convicted sniper Lee Malvo.

The Virginia Attorney General’s Office said Friday that the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond has issued a stay that leaves Malvo’s life sentences in place until it can weigh in on whether Malvo is entitled to a new hearing.

Last month, a federal judge in Norfolk ordered new sentencing hearings form Malvo in Fairfax and Spotsylvania counties because of a Supreme Court ruling that mandatory life sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional.

Malvo was 17 when he was arrested in 2002 for a series of shootings that killed 10 people and wounded three in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Virginia authorities are appealing Jackson’s ruling.