The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that people serving life terms for murders they committed as juveniles must have a chance to seek their freedom, a decision that could affect more than 1,000 inmates.
But it does not affect the case of Austin Myers who was 19 when he was sentenced to death on Oct. 16, 2014, in Warren County.
Myers, now 21, of Clayton and a former classmate at Northmont High School were both convicted of murdering Justin Back, 18, at his home outside Waynesville.
The case only impacts case involving people sentenced for crimes committed before they were 18 years old, according to legal experts.
“It’s age at time of crime,” said Ohio Public Defender Tim Young. “A 19-year-old wouldn’t be part of it.”
Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell also said the ruling wouldn’t affect Myers’ case.
“It applies to juveniles who were sentenced to life without parole, not adults who were given the death penalty,” Fornshell said.
The justices voted 6-3 to extend a ruling from 2012 that struck down automatic life terms with no chance of parole for juvenile killers. Now, even those who were convicted long ago must be considered for parole or given a new sentence. The court ruled in the case of Henry Montgomery, who has been in prison more than 50 years, since he killed a sheriff’s deputy as a 17-year-old in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1963.
Myers was the youngest inmate on Death Row in Ohio when he was admitted on Oct. 17, 2014.
His co-defendant Timothy Mosley, also 19, testified that he stabbed the 18-year-old Back 21 times while they wrestled on Back’s kitchen floor, but that Myers was the key planner. Mosley was sentenced to life in prison in exchange for his testimony.
Myers’ execution has been stayed while on appeal in the Ohio Supreme Court.
