PHILADELPHIA (AP)- Lawyers for a brother and sister sentenced to life in prison on cyberstalking charges related to the shooting death of the man's ex-wife say the convictions should not stand.
Attorneys for David Matusiewicz and Amy Gonzalez on Wednesday told a panel of federal appeals judges in Philadelphia that the conviction violates freedom of speech rules.
Matusiewicz, Gonzalez and their mother were given life sentences on conspiracy and cyberstalking charges after Matusiewicz's father fatally shot his son's ex-wife inside a Delaware courthouse following a bitter custody battle.
Authorities say the family engaged in a three-year campaign of tormenting and stalking the ex-wife in an effort to regain custody of the former spouses' children.
Matusiewicz's father killed himself after the fatal shooting. His mother died in prison.
