JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A man sentenced to life in prison without parole for a murder in Jefferson City will be resentenced.
A Missouri Appeals Court panel on Tuesday ordered Cole County to resentence William Branch for the 1999 killing of 34-year-old Michael Alfaro during a robbery at a Jefferson City convenience store.
Branch was 17 at the time of the killing. The appeals court said he must be resentenced because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that life sentences without parole for juvenile offenders are unconstitutional.
The Jefferson City News-Tribune reports the office of Attorney General Chris Koster’s office is reviewing Tuesday’s ruling.
Branch pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in 2000. A co-defendant, Terry Campbell, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree robbery.