COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Supreme Court will hear arguments from a juvenile who claims his 112-year sentence is unconstitutional because it amounts to a life sentence without parole in a case that did not involve murder.
The case will be heard during oral arguments next Wednesday.
Brandon Moore, convicted in 2002 in Mahoning County for rape, robbery, kidnapping, and other charges, is asking the justices to consider the constitutionality of the sentence, which makes it unlikely he could be released during his lifetime.
Moore is basing his argument on a U.S. Supreme Court 2010 decision which held that it is unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to life without parole unless the crime is murder.
Although the decision does not require the state to guarantee release for a juvenile sentenced to life, it also cannot impose a sentence that makes possible freedom appear impossible a the time at the outset, Moore contends.
Based on the state’s calculation, Moore would first be considered for release at 92.
Moore was 15 in 2001 when he robbed and abducted a young woman near her workplace, and then he and another teen repeatedly raped her at gunpoint.
Following an appeal, the trial court sentenced him to 112 years in prison for his offenses.
Moore argues that his sentence is essentially life without a chance for release while the U.S Supreme Court has ruled to protect minors convicted of non-homicide offenses from being imprisoned for their entire lives.