BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A judge has refused to reduce the life sentence for a North Dakota man who was a teenager when he fatally shot his parents, brother and sister in 1992. South Central District Judge Bobbi Weiler said in a 22-page order filed Wednesday (June 8, 2022) that a law regarding sentence reductions went into effect after Michael Neugebauer’s sentence was final and can’t be applied retroactively. In addition, Weiler said the nature of the offense committed by Neugebauer “weighs heavily against a sentence reduction.” Neugebauer’s case was charged in adult court. A state law that addresses sentence reductions for juveniles convicted as adults did not go into effect until August 2017.
