James Kelliher won a reversal of his new sentence at the Court of Appeals last week after the trial court ignored rulings from the State Supreme Court. Once serving a de facto life sentence, Kelliher is now back to eligibility for parole after 25 years.
An NC Newsline story covered Justice Anita Earls’ response. She stated that the State Constitution: “does not permit us to ignore his potential for change. He cannot be deprived the opportunity to demonstrate that he has become someone different than the person he was when he was seventeen years old and at his worst.”