Court upholds man’s life sentence
Thurlow guilty of murder in 2005 junkyard slaying
BOISE – Idaho’s Court of Appeals has rejected an appeal from a Sandpoint man who got life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2005 shotgun slaying of Christopher West.
Kenneth Eugene Thurlow argued that his sentence was excessive, given his lack of a previous criminal record and his drug addiction and mental health issues.
He also argued he shouldn’t have been denied a bid to have an additional attorney appointed to represent him as co-counsel. The high court rejected both arguments and found he had adequate legal representation.
Thurlow and Christopher Lewers went to a junkyard in August 2005 with concealed shotguns and baseball bats and killed West, 25, who was working on his truck. They then stole several items from his truck, which they sold to an acquaintance later that night.
District Judge John Luster, while sentencing Thurlow, called it a “senseless” murder.
The appellate court found that the lower court considered all factors and properly sentenced Thurlow on the first-degree murder charge.
Lewers was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.