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Criminal Law Keyed to Lee
Graham v. Florida
Citation:
560 U.S. 48, 130 S.Ct. 2011 (2010)
ProfessorScott Caron
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Terrance Graham was born to parents who were addicted to crack cocaine. He was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in elementary school. He began drinking and using tobacco at age 9.
When he was 16, he and three other youths attempted to rob a restaurant. Graham entered through an unlocked back door and struck the manager with a metal bar. When the manager began yelling at them, they all ran and escaped. No money was taken.
Graham was arrested and charged as an adult with armed burglary with assault or battery, which carried a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and attempted armed-robbery, which carried a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.
Graham pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to concurrent 3-year terms of probation. He was required to spend the first 12 months of his probation in jail. Less than 6 months after being released from jail, when he was 17, he was arrested for participating in a home invasion robbery. Graham and two other accomplices held the people inside of the home at gunpoint while they searched for money. Graham was chased by police and tried to flee on foot after crashing into a telephone pole, but was apprehended. Three guns were found in his car.
Graham was facing a minimum of 5 years’ imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment. The trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of release. Graham challenged this sentence, arguing that it violated the Eighth Amendment. The First District Court of Appeal of Florida affirmed, stating that his sentence was not grossly disproportionate to his crimes. The court further concluded that he was incapable of rehabilitation.
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