WHEATON, Ill. (AP) — A 40-year-old suburban Chicago man who had to be resentenced after a high-court decision striking mandatory life prison terms for juveniles at the time of a slaying has been handed the same life sentence.
The DuPage County state’s attorney’s office Tuesday welcomed the decision in Joseph Arrieta’s case. The former gang member was convicted in the 1995 double-murder of Anthony Moore and Edward Riola and was automatically given a life sentence. He turned 18 three month after the killings.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin says the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling didn’t find life sentences were necessarily inappropriate only that they couldn’t be imposed automatically.
The resentencing included evidence and arguments before a judge. It was held on Aug. 8. The state’s attorney’s office announced the judge’s decision Tuesday.