Thread by @jallen1985

SCOTUS held in Miller v. Alabama (2012) that mandatory juvenile life w/o parole is unconstitutional.

@LynnFitchAG today asked SCOTUS to uphold juvenile LWOP sentences even where the judge made no finding of incorrigibility 👉 supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/18/1…

Brett Jones, the defendant, received support from a star-studded set of amici including the @ABAesq @ACLU @LawyersComm @NAACP_LDF @NACDL and an illustrious set of current and former DOJ prosecutors such as @JoyceWhiteVance.
scotusblog.com/case-files/cas…

Jones' mandatory LWOP sentence was vacated after SCOTUS' decision in Miller v. Alabama (2012), when SCOTUS held that a mandatory JLWOP was unconstitutional. SCOTUS explained further in Montgomery v. Louisiana (2016) that juvenile LWOP is only allowed for incorrigible offenders.

Then-DA @RepTrentKelly's office argued for life without parole at resentencing in 2015 but did not present evidence of incorrigibility. The resentencing judge imposed LWOP, finding that it was Jones' burden to prove he was entitled to leniency...

...rather than Kelly's burden to prove that Jones was incorrigible. courts.ms.gov/appellatecourt…

The MS Court of Appeals upheld Jones' sentence of JLWOP in 2017 even though the resentencing judge made no finding of incorrigibility.

Then-Judge Kenny Griffis voted to affirm, whereas Judge Latrice Westbrooks voted to remand for further proceedings to determine whether Jones is incorrigible (i.e. incapable of rehabilitation). courts.ms.gov/Images/HDList/…

The Mississippi Supreme Court declined to review the Court of Appeals' decision by a 5-4 vote, drawing a blistering opinion by Justice Kitchens, joined then-Chief Justice Waller and Justices King and Ishee. courts.ms.gov/appellatecourt…

Justice Kitchens' opinion emphasizes that substantial evidence that Jones' grandfather, who Jones killed at the age of 15, physically abused Jones, whereas Jones had a record of good behavior having served more than a decade on his life sentence in Mississippi's prison system.

Jones appealed directly to SCOTUS.

SCOTUS reviews criminal cases on direct review from state courts only on exceedingly rare occasions, and this is Mississippi's second year running in the foul box, following SCOTUS' direct review of Flowers v. Mississippi last year.

The brief Fitch filed today seems to emphasize that Jones committed a serious, violent crime as a reason to affirm Jones' juvenile life w/o parole sentence even though no court has found Jones to be incapable of rehabilitation.

Jones is housed at SCMI.