Wyo Sup. Court Hears Appeals on Sheridan Killing

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Lawyers for two Wyoming teenagers sentenced to life in prison for the home invasion slaying of a Sheridan man are asking the Wyoming Supreme Court to reduce their sentences following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Wyatt Bear Cloud and Dharminder (dar-MINN'-dur) Vir Sen together with another defendant were convicted of murder in the August 2009 home invasion killing of Sheridan businessman Robert Ernst.

Lawyers for Bear Cloud and Sen asked the state Supreme Court Wednesday to reduce their sentences. The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed mandatory juvenile life sentences this year.

The Wyoming Attorney General's Office says Bear Cloud may merit a new sentencing hearing so a judge could consider the possibility of parole. But the state says a life sentence remains appropriate for Sen, the gunman in Ernst's slaying.