SUPERIOR COURT -- Jayson Vreeland -- the younger of two men sentenced to life in prison for the 1997 murders of two pizza deliverymen in Franklin -- will be back in front of a Sussex County judge for arguments that could lead to a more lenient re-sentence.

SUPERIOR COURT -- Jayson Vreeland -- the younger of two men sentenced to life in prison for the 1997 murders of two pizza deliverymen in Franklin -- will be back in front of a Sussex County judge for arguments that could lead to a more lenient re-sentence.

Vreeland was 17 when he and co-defendant, then-18-year-old Thomas Koskovich, lured Giorgio Gallara, 24, and Jeremy Giordano, 20, the night of April 19, 1997, to an abandoned, since-demolished house in Franklin Borough where they were ambushed and shot to death in what later was dubbed "thrill kills."

Now 39, Vreeland -- who has had a string of unsuccessful attempts to get a retrial or reduced sentence -- will appear in front of Judge Thomas J. Critchley in June after the state Appellate Division ordered the allowance of legal arguments from Vreeland's attorney, Elizabeth Smith, and Assistant Prosecutor Laura Nazarro.

Critchley will determine if a 2017 New Jersey Supreme Court decision, which has been called "significant" by a former state Supreme Court justice, applies to Vreeland's sentence.

The Appellate Division's remand of the case cites the state Supreme Court's decision that stems from two cases, State v. Zuber and State v. Comer. The Supreme Court's unanimous decision was written by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner.

The higher court ruled on Jan. 11, 2017, that judges must take into account a series of special factors when sentencing juvenile defendants, including "immaturity, family and home environment, peer pressure, the inability to deal with police or lawyers and the likelihood of rehabilitation."

The ruling, which Peter Verniero, a former state Supreme Court justice and state attorney general, called "one of the most significant sentencing decisions," also called for the court to urge the New Jersey Legislature to revise the state's current law on juvenile sentencing -- which has been pending in committee and no further action has been taken since its introduction in 2017.

Vreeland, who was spared the death penalty because he was a minor at the time of the murders, was sentenced as an adult to life in prison. He is eligible for parole when he is 65 -- on Oct. 18, 2044, according to the state Department of Corrections website.

The state Supreme Court's "significant" decision is the result of appeals filed by Ricky Zuber and James Comer, who were both 17 when convicted of violent crimes.

Zuber, called the "ringleader" of a group that committeed gang rapes in 1981, was facing 55 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole at age 72. Comer, who was convicted of carrying out four armed robberies in 2000, including one where an accomplice shot and killed a victim, was facing 68 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole when he was 85.

In the decision, Rabner stated, "Because of their young age at the time of their crimes, both defendants can expect to spend more than a half century in jail before they may be released -- longer than the time served by some adults convicted of first-degree murder."

Nazzaro stated Thursday that as was the case in previous hearings, "It is the State's position that the sentencing addressed all issues raised in the recent cases and the defendant's request for a resentencing should be denied."

Vreeland was convicted on Dec. 22, 1999, of purposeful or knowing murder of Gallara, felony murder of Gallara, aggravated manslaughter of Giordano, first-degree robbery, second-degree burglary, conspiracy, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and possession of the firearm without a permit.

He has spent 19 years in prison and is lodged in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.

In a hearing in 2013 in front of Critchley, Smith asked him to consider Vreeland's 17-year-old brain, which was "not fully developed" at the time of the murders, and urged him to consider that Vreeland had done a "great deal" toward rehabilitating himself, having taken on a job within the prison system and having enrolled in Christian Bible College and Seminary.

Critchley, in response, called the sentence "severe," but added it was intended to be because of the "cruel and heinous and depraved crime."

Legal arguments by all parties in front of Critchley is scheduled for June 27.

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Lori Comstock can also be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.