Evan Miller v. Alabama, USSC No. 10-9646 / Kuntrell Jackson v. Hobbs, No. 10-9647, 6/25/12, reversing 63 So. 3d 676 (Ala. Crim. App. 2010) The two 14-year-old offenders in these cases were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In neither case did the sentencing authority have any discretion to… Read more
Cruel/unusual punishment
Miller: SCOTUSblog page; consolidated with Jackson: SCOTUSblog page Question Presented (from SCOTUSblog): Whether imposing a sentence of life without possibility of parole on an offender who was fourteen at the time he committed capital murder constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Sound at least vaguely familiar? It should: our supreme court resolved… Read more
DOC v. Warren Lilly, Jr., 2011 WI App 123 (recommended for publication); case activity ¶2 The primary issues we address on this appeal and their resolution are as follows: I. In light of Saenz, what is the correct legal standard for the showing DOC must make to obtain a court order continuing to authorize the forced feeding of… Read more
seventh circuit decision Cruel and Unusual Punishment – Prison Inmates, Denial of Treatment for Gender Identity Disorder Section 302.386(5m) (2010), which categorically bars hormonal therapy or sexual reassignment surgery to prison inmates, violates the 8th amendment. “Prison officials violate the Eighth Amendment’s proscription against cruel and unusual punishment when they display ‘deliberate indifference to serious medical needs of prisoners.’… Read more
State v. Omer Ninham, 2011 WI 33, affirming, 2009 WI App 64; for Ninham: Frank M. Tuerkheimer, Bryan Stevenson; amici: Byron C. Lichstein, Robert R. Henak, G. Michael Halfenger, et al.; case activity Sentencing – Life without Parole for Juveniles – Cruel and Unusual Punishment Sentence of life without parole imposed on juvenile (Ninham was… Read more
Graham v. Florida, USSC No. 08-7412, 5/17/10 In sum, penological theory is not adequate to justify life without parole for juvenile nonhomicide offenders. This determination; the limited culpability of juvenile nonhomicide offenders; and the severity of life without parole sentences all lead to the conclusion that the sentencing practice under consideration is cruel and unusual… Read more
