SPOKANE, WA – A resentencing hearing got underway Monday in Spokane County Superior Court for a man sentenced to life in prison for the 2008 murders of two young people.
Justin Crenshaw stabbed and killed 18-year-old Sarah Clark and 20-year-old Tanner Pehl, then set the house on fire.
The convicted killer received life without parole, but because he was 20 years old at the time of his heinous crimes, he is eligible for resentencing.
That is the case due to a 2021 Washington Supreme Court ruling in State v. Monschke, which held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences are unconstitutional for offenders aged 18-20, thereby overturning the automatic sentences imposed on Kurtis Monschke and Dwayne Bartholomew.
The court determined that judges must now consider the youthfulness of offenders in this age group and their potential for “transient immaturity” when sentencing them, sending their cases back for new sentencing hearings
According to KXLY, Crenshaw is one of fewer than 30 Washington inmates eligible for resentencing based on the SCOW decision.
The resentencing could last up to three days.
Meanwhile, the victims’ families of another convicted killer who could be released in early 2026 are urging people to put pressure on lawmakers and others to ensure the killer is not freed.
Arbie Dean Williams, who is now 82, murdered 15-year-old Linda Strait in 1982 in Spokane. A year later, he sexually assaulted two 8-year-old girls, strangling one of them, whom he left for dead. The little girl survived.
Advancements in DNA technology helped police finally identify Williams as Strait’s killer in 2006. He was behind bars at the time for the abduction, rape and attempted murder involving the two girls.
Rep. Jenny Graham, D-Spokane, tells The Center Square that Williams should not be released.
“We recognize that some individuals, you can work with them as long as they take responsibility and participate in the programs there to help them better themselves, and they make a commitment not to hurt or kill other people … and it also depends – do they have a long list of committing crimes?” Graham asked. “Those are the people that we should be helping reintegrate.”
Graham, whose 15-year-old sister, Debbie, was murdered by Green River Killer Gary Ridgway in 1982, said there are some cases in which perpetrators cannot be rehabilitated.
“Sometimes we’re dealing with human predators [who] enjoy hurting or killing other people,” she said. “There’s no rehabilitation for that.”
The lawmaker said members of the Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board have a great deal of power in determining if inmates are released, adding she believes that the concerns of victims’ families are not given enough weight in those decisions.
The Center Square reached out to the ISRB to inquire why Williams is up for potential release.
“Mr. Williams is being scheduled for a hearing base[d] on statute. Here is the link explaining his type of case,” Rebecca Torrence, ISRB executive assistant, emailed The Center Square.
Strait’s family is urging people to contact lawmakers and sign a petition in opposition to Williams’ potential release.
Members of the public can submit a letter to the parole board before the hearing.
As previously reported by The Center Square, “South Hill Rapist” Kevin Coe was just released to a group home in Auburn, after initial plans to live in Federal Way met community resistance.
Coe, 78, was accused of committing dozens of sexual assaults from the late 1970s to early 1980s in the Spokane area; crimes that terrorized the community for many years.
Despite failing to participate in therapy and other rehabilitative services behind bars, he was deemed no longer a threat because of his age and disability.
