State Supreme Court upholds murder conviction of boy who killed grandparents

Posted: Monday, June 11, 2007 12:01 a.m.
UPDATED: Thursday, March 22, 2012 10:22 a.m.

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Christopher Pittman, 15, looks around during the opening day of his murder trial in Charleston on Jan. 31, 2005. The South Carolina Supreme Court this morning upheld the murder conviction of Pittman, who at age 12 killed his grandparents as they slept.

Wade Spees /Christopher Pittman, 15, looks around during the opening day of his murder trial in Charleston on Jan. 31, 2005. The South Carolina Supreme Court this morning upheld the murder conviction of Pittman, who at age 12 killed his grandparents as they slept.

The South Carolina Supreme Court this morning upheld the murder conviction of Christopher Pittman, who at age 12 killed his grandparents as they slept in their Chester County home.

Pittman, now 18, was found guilty in 2005 during a trial moved to Charleston that drew nationwide attention, partly because of the defense team's assertion the boy was involuntarily intoxicated by the antidepressant Zoloft and couldn't tell right from wrong.

Andy Vickery, Pittman's lead attorney, appealed the conviction saying there were errors in the trial and that sentencing a juvenile to 30 years in prison was unconstitutional punishment.