SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Kinkel, now 35, killed two and wounded 26 others in May, 1998, at Thurston high School, after killing his parents the day before.
The court ruled Thursday that the sentence does not violate Kinkel’s constitutional protection from cruel and unusual punishment, even though the law shields minors in many cases from life sentences. Kinkel was 15 at the time of the shooting.
Kinkel, now 35, killed two and wounded 26 others in May, 1998, at Thurston high School, after killing his parents the day before.
The episode was among the first school attacks in recent decades to seize the national spotlight, and predated prominent incidents around the country that spurred a broader focus on school violence.