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Court News Ohio
Convicted
Juvenile To Argue 112-Year Sentence Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Eight Cases on Supreme Court’s Agenda Feb. 3 and 4
By Kathleen Maloney
January 30, 2015
Upcoming cases before the Ohio Supreme Court involve sentences for
impaired drivers with prior offenses, admissibility of drug evidence
gathered outside police officer’s jurisdiction, and a damages claim for
wrongful imprisonment.
The Ohio Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of a
juvenile’s sentence for multiple crimes that makes it unlikely he could
be released during his lifetime. The case will be heard during oral
arguments next Wednesday.
Brandon Moore was convicted in 2002 in Mahoning County for rape,
robbery, kidnapping, and other charges. On Aug. 21, 2001, Moore, who
was 15 at the time, robbed and abducted a young woman near her
workplace, and then he and another teen repeatedly raped her at
gunpoint.
Following an appeal, the trial court sentenced him to 112 years in
prison for his offenses.
Moore points to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Graham v.
Florida, which held that it’s unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to
life without parole unless the crime is murder. He argues that his
sentence is essentially life without a chance for release. Graham’s
intention is to protect minors convicted of non-homicide offenses from
the harshest sentence possible for juveniles – being imprisoned for
their entire lives, he asserts.
While release isn’t guaranteed for a juvenile with a de facto life
term, courts cannot impose a sentence that precludes possible freedom
at the outset, he contends. Based on the state’s calculation, Moore
would first be considered for release at 92.
Read the other upcoming cases at Court News Ohio
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