BISMARCK (KFGO) - The North Dakota Supreme Court has upheld the life in prison without parole sentence for Barry Garcia, who was convicted in the 1995 murder of a West Fargo woman.
Garcia was found guilty of shooting Cheryl Tendeland, 50, while she, her husband and a friend were sitting in a car.
Garcia's lawyer had argued that he should be considered for a lighter sentence based on a new state law that people convicted as an adult before they were 18 can be given a lighter sentence after 20 years if they're no longer considered a danger to others. Garcia was 16 at the time of the murder.
Garcia had argued earlier that his sentence should be reviewed in light of a US Supreme Court ruling that life sentences without parole for juveniles was cruel and unusual punishment.