rockin'robin
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Court: Teens May Not Be Locked Up For Life If They Haven't Killed Anyone
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A young man convicted of armed robbery when he was still a teenager is no longer facing the rest of his life in prison after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Monday.
After hearing arguments in the case of Jacksonville resident Terrance Graham, the supreme court decided 5-4 that a lifetime sentence for juvenile convicted of anything other than murder is unconstitutional.
By a 5-4 vote Monday, the court said the Constitution requires that young people serving life sentences must at least be considered for release.
The court ruled in an appeal Graham's sentence. The Jacksonville teenager was convicted of armed robbery of a Bono's restaurant in 2003 -- when he was 16. When he committed a second armed robbery while he was on probation on the first crime, he was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
Now 23, Graham is serving time a Florida prison, which holds more than 70 percent of juvenile defendants locked up for life.
"The state has denied him any chance to later demonstrate that he is fit to rejoin society based solely on a nonhomicide crime that he committed while he was a child in the eyes of the law," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion. "This the Eighth Amendment does not permit."
Chief Justice John Roberts agreed with Kennedy and the court's four liberal justices about Graham. But Roberts said he does not believe the ruling should extend to all young offenders who are locked up for crimes other than murder.
Attorney Bryan Gowdy argued the case before the high court.
"The court agreed with us and declared those sentences unconstitutional," Gowdy said. "The court felt the criminal justice system must account for those differences when imposing harsh non-capital punishment on kids."
Gowdy said the ruling does not release Graham or any other prisoners immediately, but does grant them a new sentencing hearing.
Graham's mother told Channel 4 on Monday that this is the happiest day of her life, but she know there are others who are angered that her son may be able to get out of prison.
"That's OK. Everybody is entitled to their opinion," Mary Graham said.
Among those not happy with the decision is the state attorney's office, which said they will fight to keep Graham locked up.
"That is what the public needs to know: We are not going to give up trying to protect them, which is our obligation," said Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda.
Tiffany Leahy, who was working at Bono's the day it was robbed, has mixed feelings about the ruling.
"Life, it sounds so hard," Leahy told Channel 4's Jim Piggott. "And again, these are just people who keep doing the same things over and over again, so you want to make a strict punishment."
High Court Limits Juvenile Life Sentences - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A young man convicted of armed robbery when he was still a teenager is no longer facing the rest of his life in prison after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Monday.
After hearing arguments in the case of Jacksonville resident Terrance Graham, the supreme court decided 5-4 that a lifetime sentence for juvenile convicted of anything other than murder is unconstitutional.
By a 5-4 vote Monday, the court said the Constitution requires that young people serving life sentences must at least be considered for release.
The court ruled in an appeal Graham's sentence. The Jacksonville teenager was convicted of armed robbery of a Bono's restaurant in 2003 -- when he was 16. When he committed a second armed robbery while he was on probation on the first crime, he was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
Now 23, Graham is serving time a Florida prison, which holds more than 70 percent of juvenile defendants locked up for life.
"The state has denied him any chance to later demonstrate that he is fit to rejoin society based solely on a nonhomicide crime that he committed while he was a child in the eyes of the law," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion. "This the Eighth Amendment does not permit."
Chief Justice John Roberts agreed with Kennedy and the court's four liberal justices about Graham. But Roberts said he does not believe the ruling should extend to all young offenders who are locked up for crimes other than murder.
Attorney Bryan Gowdy argued the case before the high court.
"The court agreed with us and declared those sentences unconstitutional," Gowdy said. "The court felt the criminal justice system must account for those differences when imposing harsh non-capital punishment on kids."
Gowdy said the ruling does not release Graham or any other prisoners immediately, but does grant them a new sentencing hearing.
Graham's mother told Channel 4 on Monday that this is the happiest day of her life, but she know there are others who are angered that her son may be able to get out of prison.
"That's OK. Everybody is entitled to their opinion," Mary Graham said.
Among those not happy with the decision is the state attorney's office, which said they will fight to keep Graham locked up.
"That is what the public needs to know: We are not going to give up trying to protect them, which is our obligation," said Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda.
Tiffany Leahy, who was working at Bono's the day it was robbed, has mixed feelings about the ruling.
"Life, it sounds so hard," Leahy told Channel 4's Jim Piggott. "And again, these are just people who keep doing the same things over and over again, so you want to make a strict punishment."
High Court Limits Juvenile Life Sentences - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville