Published On: June 1, 2012
Categories Juveniles in Jails/Prisons, LWOP/extremely long sentences
This amicus curiae brief was filed on behalf of appellant Rodrigo Caballero. The issue in appellant’s case concerned whether a sentence, imposed on a juvenile convicted of committing non-homicide offenses, that exceeded an offender’s life expectancy is the functional equivalent of a life sentence without the possibility of parole, under the Eighth Amendment within the meaning of Graham v. Florida.
This brief argued that the appellant’s age at the time of the offenses, his mental illness, and his probably incompetency rendered his 110 year sentence for non-homincide offenses cruel and unusual punishment under the California Constitution.
On August 16, 2012, the California Supreme Court agreed and overturned the judgment and sent it back to the lower court for resentencing.
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