Ruling requires judges to consider age and more when giving teens harsh sentences
When the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a teenager convicted of killing three people in Minneapolis should receive a new sentence, it made clear that judges who issue the harshest of sentences against minors must consider their age, home life and other factors.
• NewsCut: Divided court orders resentencing in Seward killings
As a result, Mahdi Ali, convicted in the 2010 slayings of three men at the Seward Market, now has the chance to contest his sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
In their ruling, the justices said the Legislature still needs to fix a law that required automatic life-without-parole for juveniles who commit some first-degree murders.
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State Sen. Ron Latz, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said a bill he proposed to repeal those sentences for juveniles did not pass, but he's more optimistic for the next session.
"The science now shows that the human brain isn't fully developed until the age of 25, especially the impulse-control portions of the brain," said Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park. "The Supreme Court believes, and I agree, that the district court judge ought to consider that in determining whether the crime that was committed deserves to result in the life prison sentence without the possibility of parole."
The decision comes in light of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling two years ago. It declared that automatically sentencing juveniles to life without parole is unconstitutional.
Despite the new court order, Ali won't be getting out of prison anytime soon. He still faces two consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
That would mean Ali would still have to serve a minimum of 60 years to become eligible for parole on those two conditions. Now, Hennepin County District Court could decide whether to change Ali's penalty for the third conviction to life with the chance of parole.
Even if a new sentence allows for the chance of parole, that wouldn't happen for 90 years, Deputy Hennepin County Attorney David Brown said.
"Practically, I don't think it's going to make any difference for Mr. Ali," Brown said.