SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Keywords:
Juvenile Life Without Parole Eighth Amendment Mandatory Sentencing Juvenile Murder Convictions U.S. Supreme Court Case (Miller v. Alabama)Abstract
In each of these cases, a 14-year-old was convicted of murder and sen- tenced to a mandatory term of life imprisonment without the possibil- ity of parole. In No. 10−9647, petitioner Jackson accompanied two other boys to a video store to commit a robbery; on the way to the store, he learned that one of the boys was carrying a shotgun. Jack- son stayed outside the store for most of the robbery, but after he en- tered, one of his co-conspirators shot and killed the store clerk. Ar- kansas charged Jackson as an adult with capital felony murder and aggravated robbery, and a jury convicted him of both crimes. The trial court imposed a statutorily mandated sentence of life imprison- ment without the possibility of parole. Jackson filed a state habeas petition, arguing that a mandatory life-without-parole term for a 14- year-old violates the Eighth Amendment. Disagreeing, the court granted the State’s motion to dismiss. The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed.
