BROWN v. STATE (2017)

Appellant Freddy Brown pled guilty to second degree murder for a murder he committed in 1980, when he was seventeen years old. His sentencing hearing did not take into consideration his status as a juvenile offender. Brown was sentenced to life imprisonment with parole. He remains imprisoned due to a record of unsatisfactory institutional conduct.

In 2015, Brown filed a rule 3.850 motion for post-conviction relief pursuant to Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012), which held that the mandatory sentencing of a juvenile to a term of life in prison without parole violates the Eighth Amendment. The Florida Legislature responded to Miller v. Alabama by enacting sections 921.1401 and 921.1402 of the Florida Statutes, which provide for the review of sentences of juveniles convicted of certain offenses and given a term of life imprisonment. See Atwell v. State, 197 So. 3d 1040 (Fla. 2016) (extending Miller v. Alabama's proscription to a Florida juvenile's life sentence with the possibility of parole).

The trial court denied Brown's rule 3.850 motion. We reverse Brown's life sentence and remand for an appropriate resentencing. Miller v. State, No. 3D15–2492 (Fla. 3d DCA Jan. 25, 2017).

Reversed and remanded with instructions.

PER CURIAM.