Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2014

State v. Williams

State v. Williams
Supreme Court of Louisiana · Decided June 20, 2014 · Deny, Johnson, Reasons, Writ
141 So. 3d 805; 2014 WL 2818650; 2014 La. LEXIS 1544 (Southern Reporter, Third Series)

State v. Williams

Opinion of the Court

JOHNSON, C.J.,

dissents and would deny the writ.

1,1 respectfully dissent. On June 25, 2012, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion in Miller v. Alabama, which held “that the Eighth Amendment forbids a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders.” Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. -, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012). In State v. Tate, 2012-2763 (La.11/5/13), 130 So.3d 829, this court held that Miller does not retroactively apply to juvenile offenders whose life sentences were handed down before the Supreme Court issued its opinion. I dissented from this court’s ruling in Tate, finding that Miller announced a new rule of criminal procedure that is substantive and consequently should apply retroactively. For the same reasons expressed in my dissent in Tate, I must dissent in this case.

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