SPOKANE, Wash – A Spokane County judge determined a man who killed two young adults in 2008 acted with premeditation and violence that showed maturity rather than the recklessness of youth, resentencing him to two consecutive life sentences without parole.
Justin Crenshaw killed 18-year-old Sarah Clark and 20-year-old Tanner Pehl in 2008. He stabbed them multiple times and posed their bodies before trying to burn down the house and cover up the crime.
Crenshaw was sentenced to life in prison without parole, but had to be resentenced because of a Washington Supreme Court decision that requires judges to consider the youthfulness of an offender who commits a crime while age 21 and under.
“The court does not find youthfulness as a mitigating factor in Mr. Crenshaw at all,” Judge Chuang said.
After his initial sentencing, Crenshaw went on to commit more violence in prison, stabbing multiple inmates and killing his cellmate in a prison in Virginia.
He stabbed one inmate 70 times, but that inmate survived.
During the two-day hearing, Clark and Pehl’s family members testified about the impacts of their loss, saying Crenshaw should never be released and allowed to victimize anyone else.
Crenshaw spoke in the hearing, saying he took full responsibility for the crimes, but then also said it was not entirely his fault. He blamed PTSD and an extreme reaction to alcohol for the crimes.
In reading his decision, Judge Dean Chuang acknowledged Crenshaw’s PTSD and difficult upbringing, but said his actions during and after the crime show a maturity and decisiveness that overshadowed any claims of youthful immaturity.
Judge Chuang said Crenshaw showed “scant evidence of rehabilitation.”
While issuing his ruling and saying he did not believe Crenshaw was actually sorry, Crenshaw began arguing with Judge Chuang, which Chuang cited as more evidence of his behavior.
“If Mr. Crenshaw is released, he will kill again,” Chuang said.
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