KEVIN EARL WADLEY, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Wadley, sentenced to life imprisonment without parole as a juvenile, appeals the denial of his post-conviction relief motion. The court reverses, holding that his mandatory life sentences are illegal under Graham v. Florida and Miller v. Alabama, which prohibit mandatory life sentences without parole for juvenile offenders.
Wadley's mandatory life sentences without parole for both homicide and non-homicide offenses are illegal under Graham and Miller. Miller applies retroactively to juvenile offenders whose convictions and sentences were final when Miller was decided. Wadley must be resentenced pursuant to chapter 2014-220, Laws of Florida.
[1] A sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders is unconstitutional.
[2] The Supreme Court's holding in Miller v. …
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders”
Establishes the constitutional prohibition that Miller v. Alabama applies to Wadley's case
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWadley committed offenses when he was seventeen years old. He was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted armed robbery, and armed burglary. Pursu…
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Appellant, Kevin Earl Wadley (“Wad-ley”), appeals an order summarily denying his Motion for Post-Conviction Relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. While Wadley raises several points on appeal, we address only whether Wadley’s life sentences imposed 'for offenses that he committed when he was seventeen years old are illegal pursuant to Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48, 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), which forbid “a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders.” Miller, 132 S.Ct. at 2469.
Because the Florida Supreme Court recently held in Falcon v. State, 162 So.3d 954, 956. (Fla.2015), that Miller “applies retroactively to juvenile offenders whose convictions and sentences were final at the time Miller was decided,” we conclude that Wadley must be resentenced pursuant to the framework established in chapter 2014-220, Laws of Florida. See Horsley v. State, 160 So.3d 393 (Fla.2015); Henry v. State, 175 So.3d 675 (Fla.2015). Accordingly, we affirm in part1 and reverse in part.
'In case number F94-33949A, a jury found Wadley guilty of first-degree murder, attempted armed robbery, and armed burglary with an assault or battery. The State and Wadley subsequently entered into., a plea agreement in which the State waived the imposition of the death penalty *425in exchange for Wadley’s agreement to a life without parole sentence for the first-degree murder charge, and thirty years in prison for the attempted armed robbery-charge.2 Pursuant to the Florida Supreme Court’s holding in Falcon, Miller requires that we ■ vacate Wadley’s mandatory life sentence without parole for the homicide offense.
' Additionally, pursuant to the plea agreement entered into in case number F94-’ 33949A, Wadley also agreed, inter alia, to plead guilty and to be sentenced to life in prison for armed robbery charges in two unrelated cases, numbers F94-33950A, and F94-35475.
The State, properly concedes that ¡Wad-ley’s life sentences for the non-homicide offenses in case numbers F94-33950A, and F94-35475 are illegal sentences under Graham', and that Wadley must therefore be resentenced in those cases as well.
Accordingly, we vacate the life sentences for both the homicide and non-homicide offences, and on remand, Wadley must be resentenced pursuant to chapter 2014-220, Laws of Florida. We affirm, however, as to the trial court’s denial of the remaining issues raised by Wadley in his post-conviction motion.
Affirmed in part;- reversed in part and remanded with directions.
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Torres v. State, 184 So. 3d 1239 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)…ing in conformance with chapter 2014-220, Laws of Florida, provided they present the court with a timely rule 3.850 motion. See §§ 775.082, 921.1401, 921.1402, Fla. Stat. (2015). See also Horsley v. State, 160 So. 3d 393 (Fla.2015); Wadley v. State, 178 So. 3d 424 (Fla.3d DCA 2015). The State agrees that Torres is entitled to resentencing on count two for the non-homicide offense of armed robbery but argues that the appropriate remedy is re-sentencing pursuant to the applicable governing statute for the subj…1 / 2
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Rancifer Brown v. State (Fla. 3d DCA 2020)…e violations of fundamental rights, such as double jeopardy claims, see Martinez v. State, 298 So. 3d 1196, 1201 n.5 (Fla. 3d DCA 2020), we have afforded relief for Miller/Graham violations despite the entry of such pleas. See e.g. Wadley v. State, 178 So. 3d 424 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015). Moreover, the record in this case does not clearly reflect that Brown’s current sentence was imposed pursuant to a plea. Even if we were to conclude, as did the trial court, that the resentencing was pursuant to a plea, the reco…
Authorities Cited
- Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (U.S. 2012)
- Horsley v. State, 160 So. 3d 393 (Fla. 2015)
- Graham v. Florida (1st Cir. 2010)
- Leighdon Henry v. State, 175 So. 3d 675 (Fla. 2015)
- Falcon v. State, 162 So. 3d 954 (Fla. 2015)