PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – The South Dakota Supreme Court has ruled a 90-year prison sentence for a teen who killed a Rapid City convenience store clerk in 2017 didn’t violate his constitutional rights.
Carlos Quevedo argued his sentence for 2nd-degree murder in the killing of Kasie Lord was disproportionately harsh for a 17-year-old, but the Supreme Court decided unanimously that the sentence did not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
Quevedo, now 20, pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder in 2018 for stabbing Lord 38 times after she tried to stop him and a friend from stealing beer from her store.