State v. Sims, ___ N.C. App. ___, 818 S.E.2d 401 (Aug. 7, 2018)

The trial court did not err by imposing a sentence of life imprisonment without parole on the juvenile defendant. In 2001 the defendant was tried capitally and convicted of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and burning of personal property. The jury recommended a sentence of life imprisonment without parole, and the trial court entered judgment. The defendant’s direct appeal was unsuccessful. In 2013 the defendant filed an MAR requesting a new sentencing hearing in light of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Miller which held that mandatory life without parole for juvenile offenders violates the eighth amendment. The trial court granted the defendant’s MAR and ordered a new sentencing hearing. At the end of that hearing the trial court ordered that the defendant’s sentence remain life without parole. The defendant appealed. On appeal the defendant argued that the trial court violated his eighth amendment constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment by imposing a sentence of life without parole and erred by imposing a sentence of life without parole because it failed to make findings on the presence or absence of Miller factors and the findings it did make do not support the conclusion that the sentence was warranted. The court disagreed finding that the trial court complied with the statutory requirements in determining that life imprisonment without parole was warranted. Additionally, the trial court properly made ultimate findings of fact on each of the Miller factors as set forth in section 15A-1340.19B(c) and did not abuse its discretion in weighing those factors and concluding that life imprisonment without parole was appropriate in the defendant’s case.