Miller Vs Alabama Case Study
Michael DePalma
Law and Legal Systems
Mr. Payne
4/6/16
Case Brief Miller V Alabama
Miller v. Alabama 567 U.S (2012)
Judicial History: Miller signed a statement in which he stated that he had stolen Cannon’s money and driver’s license after a fight but he didn’t not set his trailer on fire. A jury trial found Miller guilty of capital murder in the course of arson and gave him the mandatory sentence of life without parole. Miller’s lawyers moved for a new trial and the Circuit Court’s denial of the motion. Miller then appealed to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, challenging both the constitutionality of sentencing a 14-year-old to life without parole and the mandatory imposition of a life-without-parole sentence on a 14-year-old. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals held that Miller’s conviction was not …show more content…
The parties’ debate focuses on varying interpretations of the Supreme Court cases of Roper v. Simmons and Graham v. Florida. Roper held that minors can't be sentenced to capital punishment. Graham held that minors can't be sentenced to life in jail without the chance for further appeal for non-crime offenses. Miller stated that both Roper and Graham held that cruel sentences connected to minors violated the Eighth Amendment; Miller contends that these cases remain for the suggestion that adolescents should receive different treatment than adults in sentencing, and that a mandatory life-without-parole without-any chance to appeal sentence for a 14-year-old is precisely the sort of sentence Roper and Graham forbid. Alabama contends that Roper and Graham remain for the proposition that Eighth Amendment jurisprudence should be predicated on widely accepted sentencing practices, and that a life-without-parole sentence for a 14-year-old with national standards and developing guidelines of
Law and Legal Systems
Mr. Payne
4/6/16
Case Brief Miller V Alabama
Miller v. Alabama 567 U.S (2012)
Judicial History: Miller signed a statement in which he stated that he had stolen Cannon’s money and driver’s license after a fight but he didn’t not set his trailer on fire. A jury trial found Miller guilty of capital murder in the course of arson and gave him the mandatory sentence of life without parole. Miller’s lawyers moved for a new trial and the Circuit Court’s denial of the motion. Miller then appealed to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, challenging both the constitutionality of sentencing a 14-year-old to life without parole and the mandatory imposition of a life-without-parole sentence on a 14-year-old. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals held that Miller’s conviction was not …show more content…
The parties’ debate focuses on varying interpretations of the Supreme Court cases of Roper v. Simmons and Graham v. Florida. Roper held that minors can't be sentenced to capital punishment. Graham held that minors can't be sentenced to life in jail without the chance for further appeal for non-crime offenses. Miller stated that both Roper and Graham held that cruel sentences connected to minors violated the Eighth Amendment; Miller contends that these cases remain for the suggestion that adolescents should receive different treatment than adults in sentencing, and that a mandatory life-without-parole without-any chance to appeal sentence for a 14-year-old is precisely the sort of sentence Roper and Graham forbid. Alabama contends that Roper and Graham remain for the proposition that Eighth Amendment jurisprudence should be predicated on widely accepted sentencing practices, and that a life-without-parole sentence for a 14-year-old with national standards and developing guidelines of