US

Cop Killer’s Life-Sentence Appeal Rejected By Court

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A Missouri court rejected an appeal from a man convicted of killing a cop and sentenced to life in prison.

Trenton Forster, who was 18 when he shot St. Louis police officer Blake Snyder, argued that his life incarceration was too harsh of a penalty given his age when the crime was committed, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Missouri law prohibits life sentences for 18-year-olds, but the court based its judgment on a recent state supreme court ruling that rejected a motion to raise the age limit for first-degree murderers, the local outlet reported.

The convicted killer also argued that the appearance of Snyder’s wife, images of the slain officer and anti-police recordings presented at trial were unfairly disparaging to his character, according to the Post-Dispatch.

Forster, who was sentenced last year, shot Snyder and attempted to kill his partner while the officers responded to a disturbance call, the local outlet reported. Forster was high on drugs and suicidal at the time of the attack, according to the Post-Dispatch.

“How do you ever live without your child? I think every mother, especially,” Snyder’s mother, Peggy, said during sentencing in 2019, according to a journalist from KTVI. “Because you carried him, you’re the first to hold him. How do you live your life without a … without a son?”

“How do you ever live without your child? I think every mother, especially. Because you carried him, you’re the first to hold him. How do you live your life without a .. without a son?” Peggy Snyder, mother of @stlcountypd Blake Snyder, following Trenton Forster sentencing. pic.twitter.com/YTJSqV3b7a

— Jasmine Huda (@jhuda) April 18, 2019