Oregon Supreme Court - May 10, 2018

by: Rankin Johnson • June 4, 2018 • no comments

Summarized by Rankin Johnson, OCDLA

• SENTENCING -- Adult Sentencing of Juveniles

112-year sentence imposed for crimes committed when petitioner was 15 affirmed.

Petitioner pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and twenty-five counts of attempted murder, and pleaded no-context to a twenty-sixth count of attempted murder. The sentences were imposed consecutively in part and concurrently in part, leading to a total sentence of 112 years in prison.

In 2012, after petitioner’s first post-conviction petition became final, the US Supreme Court decided that the Eighth Amendment prohibited a nondiscretionary life-without-parole sentence for a murder committed by a juvenile.

Petitioner filed a successive post-conviction petition, arguing that his 112-year sentence was effectively a life sentence.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Eighth Amendment was not violated by multiple sentences for murder and attempted murder that cumulatively led to an effective life sentence. The court observed that the trial court had determined that petitioner suffered from permanent mental illnesses.

The dissent argued that the petitioner’s crime and age were inextricably linked, and thus the sentence violated the Eighth Amendment.

Kinkel v. Persson 362 Or 758 (April 19, 2018) (Kistler, J., Egan, J. pro tem, dissenting.)