P. v. Blackwell
Appellant Bradley Blackwell was sentenced to prison for a term of life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) following his conviction by jury trial of first degree murder with felony-murder special circumstances and other offenses, which were committed when he was 17 years old. He appealed, arguing his LWOP sentence should be reversed because (1) it exceeded the punishment allowable absent a jury determination of his age and violated his Sixth Amendment rights under Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000) 530 U.S. 466, 490 (Apprendi); (2) it amounted to cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment of the federal Constitution because he was a juvenile at the time of the offenses; and (3) it was an abuse of discretion.
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