State v. Lowery, 219 N.C. App. 151 (Feb. 21, 2012)

No violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment occurred when the defendant, who was 16 years old at the time of his arrest, was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole . The court rejected the defendant’s argument that Graham v. Florida, 130 S. Ct. 2011 (2010) (the Eighth Amendment does not permit a juvenile offender to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a non-homicide crime), warranted a different result; the court distinguished Graham on grounds that the case at hand involved a murder conviction.