VINELAND, N.J. (AP) — An appellate court in New Jersey has cleared the way for two men to seek release from prison after serving more than a quarter-century behind bars in the home invasion murders of a couple, crimes committed when the defendants were juveniles.
Since 1995, 45-year-old Jason Baker and 44-year-old Luis Beltran have been serving life sentences in the 1994 slayings of 64-year-old George and 64-year-old Margaret McLoughlin in Vineland.
The state Supreme Court ruled last month that juvenile inmates should be allowed to apply for release after 20 years. The appellate court said Friday that Baker and Beltran are eligible for a sentencing review at which defendants can show evidence of rehabilitation and seek release, NJ.com reported.
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Authorities said Jason Baker was 17 years old and Luis Beltran was 16 when they and another teen went to the McLoughlin house looking for guns, but did not find any. Margaret McLoughlin was shot four times and her husband was beaten, pistol-whipped and stabbed, authorities said.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional life sentences with no chance of parole for juvenile defendants. In New Jersey, life sentences commute to a 30-year minimum before parole can be sought, and the state’s highest court last month said that was unconstitutional.
In the case of James Comer, who was 17 during a 2000 robbery spree in Essex County in which a man died, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that barring juvenile defendants from parole for 30 years was a form of “cruel and unusual punishment.” The high court said juvenile inmates should be able to apply for release after 20 years.
