State v. Pemberton, 228 N.C. App. 234 (Jul. 2, 2013)

Under Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012), the trial court violated the defendant’s constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment by imposing a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole upon him despite the fact that he was under 18 years old at the time of the murder. Because the defendant was convicted of first-degree murder solely on the basis of the felony-murder rule, he must be resentenced to life imprisonment with parole in accordance with G.S. 15A-1340.19B(a).