ANGELO ATWELL, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Angelo Atwell, convicted of first-degree murder and armed robbery as a juvenile in 1992, appealed the denial of his postconviction motion challenging his life sentence under Miller v. Alabama. The court affirmed the denial, holding that Miller applies only to mandatory life sentences without parole eligibility, and Atwell's sentence included parole eligibility after 25 years.
Miller is inapplicable because it applies only to mandatory sentences of life without possibility of parole. Atwell's sentence was not mandatory life without parole because he was eligible for parole after 25 years. Therefore, he is not entitled to relief even if Miller applies retroactively.
[1] A motion for postconviction relief must be under oath and comply with specific content requirements to be considered valid.
[2] A sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders violates the Eighth Amendment.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“We therefore hold that the Eighth Amendment forbids a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders.”
States Miller v. Alabama's holding, which the court found inapplicable because Atwell's sentence included parole eligibility
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAtwell was convicted in 1992 of first-degree murder and armed robbery when he was sixteen years old. He received a life sentence for murder with eligi…
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Angelo Atwell appeals the denial of his motion for postconviction relief. The motion was not under oath as required by rule 3.850(c), but the motion alleged an illegal sentence and also sought relief under rule 3.800(a). Because appellant is not entitled to relief under either rule, we affirm.
In this case, appellant was convicted in 1992 of first degree murder and armed robbery. He was sixteen years old at the time of the offenses. The court sentenced him to life in prison on both counts. Pursuant to section 775.082(1), Florida Statutes (1989), appellant’s conviction for the capital offense of first degree murder required that the court impose a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 25 years.1 The court imposed a consecutive life sentence for the armed robbery in count two.
In February, 2013, long after the convictions and sentences became final on direct review,2 appellant filed the postconviction motion at issue. He argued that his life sentence for the murder constituted cruel and unusual punishment under Miller v. Alabama, — U.S. -, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012). The trial court determined that the motion was without merit for three reasons: (1) the motion was not under oath and did not contain the information required by rule 3.850(c); (2) the motion was untimely and Miller did *169not apply retroactively; and (3) the sentence on count one was not unconstitutional under Miller because appellant was eligible for parole.
Even if his motion had been filed under oath and had complied with the content requirements of rule 3.850(c), appellant would not be entitled to relief. As explained below, he did not establish an illegal sentence that can be corrected at any time under rule 3.800(a).
Without deciding the issue of whether Miller applies retroactively, we conclude that Miller is inapplicable because Miller applies only to a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole. The holding of Miller could not be more clear: “We therefore hold that the Eighth Amendment forbids a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders.” 132 S.Ct. at 2469. In reaching this holding, the Court relied on its prior decision in Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48, 130 S.Ct. 2011, 176 L.Ed.2d 825 (2010), where it held that a sentence of life without the possibility of parole is unconstitutional when imposed on a juvenile for a non-homicide offense. In announcing the holding in Miller, the Court quoted portions of Graham which state: “ ‘A State is not required to guarantee eventual freedom,’ but must provide ‘some meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation.’ ” Miller, 132 S.Ct. at 2469 (quoting Graham, 130 S.Ct. at 2030). It is clear that the underpinning of the holding of both Miller and Graham was the ineligibility for release on parole.
Appellant was not sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for his murder conviction. The sentencing scheme in place at the time of appellant’s offense did not require a mandatory sentence of life without parole for the murder. Miller is inapplicable, and appellant would not be entitled to relief even if Miller applies retroactively.
In his Initial Brief on appeal, appellant presents a new claim that he did not argue below. He claims that he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole on the armed robbery count, and this violates Graham. It is improper for appellant’s counsel to argue this unpreserved legal issue for the first time in this appeal. We will not address it.
Affirmed.
GROSS, CIKLIN and LEVINE, JJ., concur.
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Atwell v. State, 197 So. 3d 1040 (Fla. 2016)…ed” must be remedied. Id. at 962. For these reasons, and all other reasons fully explained in this opinion, we quash the Fourth District Court of Appeal’s underlying decision upholding Atwell’s sentence for first-degree murder. See Atwell v. State, 128 So. 3d 167, 169 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013). We remand this case for resentenc-ing on the first-degree murder count in conformance with chapter 2014-220, Laws of Florida, which has been codified in sections 775.082, 921.1401, and 921.1402 of the [*1043] Florida Statut…1 / 2
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Cotto v. State, 141 So. 3d 615 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014)…ntence for the non-homicide count is illegal based on Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48, 130 S.Ct. 2011, 176 L.Ed.2d 825 (2010). That claim was not raised in the motion below and will not be addressed for the first time in this appeal. Atwell v. State, 128 So. 3d 167, 169 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013). . The Fifth District Court of Appeal has followed Geter and Gonzalez in citation opinions. Anderson v. State, 105 So. 3d 538 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013); Ferrell v. State, 105 So. 3d 539 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013).…
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Ira Demetrius McPHERSON v. State, 138 So. 3d 1201 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)…8, 130 S.Ct. 2011, 176 L.Ed.2d 825 (2010), and Miller v. Alabama, — U.S.—, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012). The decisions in Graham and Miller do not involve life sentences with parole eligibility after a term of years. See Atwell v. State, 128 So. 3d 167, 169 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013) (holding Miller does not affect a sentence of life imprisonment with parole eligibility after twenty-five years); Lewis v. State, 118 So. 3d 291 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013) (declining to apply Graham to a comparable sentence in a pos…
Previewing 3 of 36 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (U.S. 2012)
- Graham v. Florida (1st Cir. 2010)