Thurston HS shooter loses appeal of life sentence
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Kip Kinkel has lost an appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court, where he had sought reduction of the 111-year sentence he received for a 1998 mass shooting at a Springfield high school.
The court ruled Thursday that the sentence does not violate Kinkel’s constitutional protection from cruel and unusual punishment, even though the law shields minors in many cases from life sentences. Kinkel was 15 at the time of the shooting.
Kinkel, now 35, killed two and wounded 26 others in May 1998 at Thurston high School after killing his parents the day before.
The episode was among the first school attacks in recent decades to seize the national spotlight, and predated prominent incidents around the country that spurred a broader focus on school violence.
