CORALVILLE – A Minnesota man who, when he was 17-years-old, came to Iowa and killed a convenience store clerk and robbed the store and then was sentenced to life in prison, will get a shot at a new sentence.
Michael Richard Swanson, now 21-years-old, is incarcerated at this time in Coralville in the Iowa Medical & Classification Center, serving two concurrent life sentences for first degree murder and a 25 year sentence for robbery for his crimes on November 15th, 2010. Swanson, formerly of St. Louis Park, MN, shot and killed 61-year-old Shelia Myers as he robbed a Kum & Go in Humboldt, Iowa. He also shot and killed 47-year-old Vicky Bowman-Hall of Algona on the same day.
Because the the United States Supreme Court has ruled life sentences to be “cruel and unusual punishment”, many minors that are in jail for life are getting a second look at their sentences.
Swanson will get a hearing next year in Humboldt county, and his lawyer is seeking a hearing in Kossuth county, but no date has been set yet.
IN PRISON
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I agree with the Buzzard. This devil went on a senseless murder / crime streak. His age is irrelevant. He deserves death. Torture him first though.
I wonder if Shelia Myers and Vicky Bowman-Hall will still be considered dead then? I’m not trying to be cute about this, but it pisses me off when more consideration is given to the perpetrator these days rather than the victims. The fact remains that two wonderful women had their lives ended because of this thoughtless puke and he gets a chance at a do-over along with new trials that we probably get to pay for. How’s that for “cruel and unusual” punishment?
This is BULL CRAP. He showed no remorse at all for ending the lives of those to clerks who had done nothing at all to him. Keep him locked up for the rest of his life.