Latest ‘juvenile lifer’ leaves prison after 40 years
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A western Pennsylvania man has become the latest “juvenile lifer” to leave prison after serving more than 40 years for a crime committed when he was 17.
WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh reports that 58-year-old Jeffrey Cristina is home with his family Saturday after he was paroled in the 1975 slaying.
His release comes as courts resentence juveniles serving mandatory life sentences after the U.S. Supreme Court found them unconstitutional.
Cristina was serving time for second-degree murder in the death of an elderly man who died days after Cristina and two others robbed him.
He became eligible for parole when he was re-sentenced in August to 20 years to life.
Approximately 500 juvenile offenders in Pennsylvania and more than 2,500 nationwide are eligible for new sentencing hearings.