Horsley v. State
Annotate this CaseDefendant was seventeen years old when he participated in the robbery of a convenience store, during which an owner was killed. The jury convicted Defendant of first-degree murder, among other charges. Defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the murder. While Defendant’s appeal was pending, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Miller v. Alabama. Defendant subsequently filed a motion to correct his sentence, asserting that he was entitled to be resentenced with individualized consideration based on Miller. The trial court agreed with Defendant but concluded that it did not have the discretion to consider a term of years as a sentencing option. Thereafter, the court again sentenced Defendant to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The Fifth District Court of Appeal vacated Defendant’s sentence, concluding that the only sentence now available in Florida for a charge of capital murder committed by a juvenile was life with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years. The Supreme Court quashed the underlying decision and remanded the case for resentencing, holding that the proper remedy is to apply chapter 2014-220, Laws of Florida, to all juvenile offenders whose sentences are unconstitutional under Miller.
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