Graham v. Florida
| Graham v. Florida | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Argued November 9, 2009 Decided May 17, 2010 |
|
| Full case name | Terrance Jamar Graham v. Florida |
| Docket nos. | 08-7412 |
| Citations | 560 U.S. 48 (more) |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Procedural history | Writ of certiorari to Florida First District Court of Appeal. |
| Holding | |
| Sentencing an individual to life imprisonment without parole for a non-homicide crime committed before the defendant reached the age of 18 violates the Eighth Amendment. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Kennedy, joined by Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor |
| Concurrence | Roberts |
| Concurrence | Stevens, joined by Ginsburg, Sotomayor |
| Dissent | Thomas, joined by Scalia; Alito (as to Parts I and III) |
| Dissent | Alito |
Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that juvenile offenders cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for non-homicide offenses. The court decided that Roper v. Simmons (2005), which had abolished the death penalty for juvenile offenders as unconstitutional, should apply also to sentences of life without the possibility of parole.
According to a May 2010 Catholic News Service article, thirty-seven states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government have statutes that allow for a possible sentence of life in prison without parole for non-homicide crimes. However, only some of those jurisdictions have persons serving those sentences for non-homicide crimes, and most of those are adults. (According to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy in May 2010, 129 people are serving non-parole life sentences for non-homicide crimes which they committed as juveniles, 77 in Florida and the rest held in 10 different states).
In June 2012 in the related Miller v. Alabama, the Court ruled that mandatory sentences for life without parole for juvenile offenders, even in cases of murder, was cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Terrance Jamar Graham (born January 6, 1987), along with two accomplices, attempted to rob a barbecue restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida in July 2003. Aged 16 at the time, Graham was arrested for the robbery attempt and was charged as an adult for armed burglary with assault and battery, as well as attempted armed robbery. The first charge was a first-degree felony that is punishable by life. He pleaded guilty and his plea was accepted.
...
Wikipedia