Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Jan 11, 2022
STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent vs. ANDREW JAMES VRBA, Defendant-Appellant
Andrew James Vrba appealed his conviction for first-degree murder and a mandatory life sentence without parole (LWOP), arguing the sentence was unconstitutional for an 18-year-old and that the trial court erred in denying sanctions against the State for failing to preserve potentially exculpatory evidence. The appellate court affirmed the judgment, finding no merit in either claim. It held that mandatory LWOP sentences for offenders 18 and older are constitutional and that the State did not act in bad faith regarding the lost evidence.