Jamiesfeast – A North Carolina judge has upheld Kevin Golphin’s life sentence without parole for the murders of two police officers during a traffic stop when he was a minor.
The State of Court Appeals issued its ruling on Tuesday, February 6th.
Kevin and his brother Tilmon were given the death penalty for killing Ed Lowry and David Hathcock in 1997.
At the time of the crimes, Golphin was only 17 years old. However, after a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005, his sentence was modified to mandatory life without parole. This decision came about as a result of the court’s determination that imposing the death penalty on minors was a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
According to a report from Fox News, Tilmon Golphin is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. This was a result of a law that required state courts to convert death-row sentences to life imprisonment if racial bias played a role in the decision.