Graham v. Florida
United States Supreme Court
560 U.S. 48 (2010)
Relevant factsFree
At sixteen, Terrance Graham (defendant) pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, and after violating probation by committing an armed home-invasion robbery and fleeing police just weeks before turning eighteen, the trial court sentenced him to life without parole (Florida having abolished parole) for the home invasion, since he committed no homicide but Florida's sentencing scheme still permitted the maximum sentence. Florida's appellate courts affirmed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
IssueFree
Whether imposing a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole upon a minor who did not commit homicide violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.