07 August 2017 :

Fayette County Circuit Judge Ernesto Scorsone has ruled that the use of the death penalty against defendants younger than age 21 violates the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The decision bars the Commonwealth from pursuing the death penalty against Travis Bredhold, who was 18 years old at the time of the murder he is charged with committing. It is expected that prosecutors will appeal. Bredhold is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the Dec. 9, 2013 death of Mukeshbhai Patel, 51, a gas station attendant.