Lee Boyd Malvo has served almost two decades since his arrest on Oct. 24, 2002. The arrest resulted from his participation in the shooting spree within the DMV that left 10 people dead. He was 17 years old at the time of the shootings. Muhammad was 41.
Muhammad was convicted in September 2003 and sentenced to death in March 2004, and Malvo, still then a juvenile, received six consecutive life sentences without parole in Maryland and Virginia.
Now at age 37, Malvo is eligible for a reduced sentence. The ruling comes from the Maryland Court of Appeals on Aug. 26, based upon the Supreme Court guidance under the Eighth Amendment. According to Judge Robert McDonald’s order, the amendment bans life sentences without parole for juveniles “if a sentencing court determines that the offender’s crime was the result of transient immaturity,” CNN reports.
We've been here before.
This is not the first conversation surrounding sentence reduction for Malvo. He first asked for resentencing in 2019 based on the monumental Supreme Court case of Miller v. Alabama barring mandatory life without parole sentences for minors. In 2021, Maryland and Virginia both passed legislation that canceled life sentences without parole for juveniles, according to WTOP. As a result, in Maryland, people convicted as juveniles who served at least 20 years of their conviction can file a motion to reduce their sentence.
The Juvenile Restoration Act, or JUVRA, states that people who have served at least 20 years of a sentence for a crime committed while they were under age 18 can file a motion asking the circuit court to reduce their sentence.
As a result, two of Malvo’s life sentences were overturned.
Let's talk about brainwashing.
Malvo’s partner, John Allen Muhammad, was executed by lethal injection in 2009. His questionable actions to take Malvo under his wing in the heinous acts have aided Malvo’s appeals, arguing possible juvenile brainwashing as a defense. Muhammad had played a part in Malvo’s life since 1999, when the Kingston, Jamaica, native joined his mother, Una James, in Antigua, where she had met Muhammad. She relocated to Florida to look for work, according to KXLH, and Malvo and Muhammad went to Bellingham, Washington. Malvo spent his high school years between Tacoma, Washington, and Florida, splitting time between his mother and Muhammad. During this time, Muhammad introduced Malvo as his son. Allegedly, Malvo was starved and desensitized during this time, turning the malleable young man into the perfect accomplice.
In 2006, Malvo voluntarily testified against Muhammad and pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree murder in Montgomery County. At his sentencing, prosecutors stated the minor had changed tremendously since his participation.
Here's what this could mean.
In its 4-3 ruling, the Maryland Court of Appeals said it’s doubtful Malvo would ever be released, DCist reports. Malvo is also serving separate life sentences for murders in Virginia. “As a practical matter, this may be an academic question in Mr. Malvo’s case, as he would first have to be granted parole in Virginia before his consecutive life sentences in Maryland even begin,” Judge Robert McDonald said, according to CBS 19.
McDonald added that it is ultimately not up to the Court of Appeals to decide the appropriate sentence nor whether there will be a release of Malvo’s sentences in Maryland.
Malvo is currently in the Red Onion State Prison in Virginia.
