Jones v. Mississippi
Annotate this CaseDefendant Brett Jones was convicted on murder charges for stabbing his grandfather to death. He was sentenced to life. Defendant was granted leave to apply for post-conviction relief. In his argument to the circuit court, defendant argued that he was fifteen at the time of the murder, and that his sentence violated his Eighth Amendment rights. The circuit court denied relief, and defendant appealed. While defendant's appeal was pending , the United States Supreme Court decided "Miller v. Alabama" (132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012)) implicating the issue of whether a life sentence violated a juvenile convicted of homicide's constitutional rights. The Mississippi Supreme Court concluded that "Miller" created a new, substantive rule which would be applied retroactively to cases on collateral review. The Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the Court of Appeals' judgment and the trial court's denial of post-conviction relief. The Court vacated defendant's sentence and remanded this case to the Circuit Court for a new sentencing hearing.
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