Attorneys say a 1977 family murder is bringing a new wrinkle into a national debate about sentencing teenagers.
51-year-old Donnie Collum is asking for parole. He's serving four consecutive life sentences for murder. Collum and his younger brother, Scott Collum, were convicted of killing their father, stepmother, half-brother and half-sister. Donnie Collum was 15.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that mandatory life sentences without parole are unconstitutional for juveniles.
Judge Walter Lanier said Friday that Collum is technically eligible for parole for each sentence after 40 years. The judge says that if Collum were to win parole on the first sentence now, he would have to serve 40 more years before he is eligible for parole on the next sentence.