An Update on Life with and without Parole for Young Defendants

In Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), the Supreme Court held that a sentencing regime that makes life without parole mandatory for a murder committed by a defendant under the age of 18 is unconstitutional. The rule applies retroactively. Montgomery v. Louisiana, 577 U.S. __, 136 S. Ct. 718 (2016). North Carolina amended its statutes to comply with the ruling in 2012, enacting G.S. 15A-1340.19A through -1340.19D to create an option to sentence certain young defendants to life with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Today’s post considers where we are after a half-decade under the new regime. I described the details of North Carolina’s Miller fix law here. It applies to defendants convicted of first-degree murder who were under 18 at the time of the offense. Here is the basic structure: If the sole basis for a youthful defendant’s first-degree murder conviction is the felony murder rule, the court must sentence the defendant to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years. G.S. 15A-1340.19B(a)(1). If a youthful defendant is convicted of first-degree murder under any theory other than felony murder, then the court must hold a hearing to determine whether the defendant will be sentenced to life without parole (which I’ll call LWOP, because most people do) or life with the possibility of parole after 25 years. At the hearing, conducted by the trial judge as soon as practicable after the guilty verdict is returned, the court may consider evidence on “any matter the court deems relevant to sentencing.” G.S. 15A-1340.19B(b). The [...]