Robert Tulloch, convicted in the 2001 murders of Dartmouth professors Half and Susanne Zantop, is challenging his life-without-parole sentence, arguing it violates the New Hampshire Constitution. Tulloch, who was 17 at the time of the crime, and his friend James Parker planned to rob and kill individuals in order to amass $10,000 and then flee to Australia with the money they had taken. A Grafton County Superior Court hearing was set to address the legal issues of Tulloch's case.
Tulloch's challenge follows a 2012 US Supreme Court ruling deeming mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles as "cruel and unusual" punishment. His attorney, Richard Guerriero, asserts that the New Hampshire Constitution offers broader protections than the US Constitution. He argues the state's prohibition of "cruel or unusual punishments" should encompass life sentences without parole for crimes committed as a child. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire and other groups support Tulloch's appeal.
Prosecutors, however, find Guerriero's argument unconvincing and may seek the same sentence for Tulloch. New Hampshire is among the states that have not banned life-without-parole sentences for juveniles, despite similar measures succeeding in 28 others. Tulloch remains the last of five men awaiting resentencing under a state Supreme Court ruling on juvenile life sentences. Parker, 40, had been sentenced to 25 years to life and was paroled in June. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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