RICKY HIXON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Ricky Hixon, sentenced to life imprisonment with parole eligibility for a juvenile first-degree murder conviction, appealed the denial of his post-conviction motion arguing his sentence violated Miller v. Alabama. The court reversed and remanded for resentencing after the Florida Supreme Court held that juveniles sentenced to life with parole eligibility must receive individualized sentencing consideration.
Juveniles sentenced to life with the possibility of parole are entitled to resentencing with individualized consideration of their juvenile status in conformance with Florida's statutory scheme (sections 921.1401 and 921.1402).
[1] A state supreme court decision clarifying juvenile sentencing issues following U.S. …
[2] A state statute governing juvenile sentencing, enacted after the U.S. …
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“Florida's existing parole system, as set forth by statute, does not provide for individualized consideration of Atwell's juvenile status at the time of the murder, as required by Miller, and that his sentence, which is virtually indistinguishable from a sentence of life without parole, is therefore unconstitutional.”
The Florida Supreme Court's holding that life sentences with parole eligibility for juveniles violate Miller without individualized sentencing consideration.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHixon committed a first-degree murder as a juvenile and was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years. He …
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Ricky Hixon appeals the order summarily denying his motion filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850(b)(2) (providing an exception to the two-year-time limit for newly-established constitutional rights that have been held to apply retroactively). We reverse and remand for resentencing.
In his rule 3.850(b)(2) motion, Hixon argued that his life sentence with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years for a first-degree murder committed when he was a juvenile was unconstitutional under the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012), and Florida cases interpreting Miller. See Falcon v. State, 162 So.3d 954 (Fla.2015); *835 Horsley v. State, 160 So.3d 393 (Fla.2015). He asserted that he was entitled to a new sentencing hearing that would address his individualized sentencing considerations in conformance with chapter 2014-220, Laws of Florida. See §§ 921.1401, .1402, Fla. Stat. (2014) (creating a scheme in which a juvenile receives individualized considerations at the time of sentencing that can be reviewed later by the trial court).
The postconviction court summarily denied Hixon’s motion because then-existing case law held that juveniles who were sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole were actually provided with a meaningful opportunity for release. See McPherson v. State, 138 So.3d 1201, 1202 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014) (citing Atwell v. State, 128 So.3d 167, 169 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013), for the proposition that Miller does not apply to life sentences with parole eligibility)).
The Florida Supreme Court recently addressed this issue when it quashed the Fourth District’s Atwell decision. See Atwell v. State, 197 So.3d 1040, 1040 (Fla.2016). The supreme court concluded that “Florida’s existing parole system, as set forth by statute, does not provide for individualized consideration of Atwell’s juvenile status at the time of the murder, as required by Miller, and that his sentence, which is virtually indistinguishable from a sentence of life without parole, is therefore unconstitutional.” Id. at 1041. Ultimately, the court held that juveniles sentenced to life with the possibility of parole are entitled to resentencing pursuant to sections 921.1401 and 921.1402. Id. at 1050 (citing Horsley, 160 So.3d at 399).
In accordance with the supreme court’s Ativell decision, Hixon is entitled to resen-tencing in conformance with chapter 2014-220, Laws of Florida, even though he was originally sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Accordingly, we reverse the order denying Hixon’s post-■conviction motion and remand for resen-tencing.
Reversed and remanded.
SILBERMAN, MORRIS, and LUCAS, JJ., Concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Wells v. State, 208 So. 3d 1235 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017)…ation required by Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012), for a juvenile offender sentenced to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after twenty-five years. Id.; see also Hixon v. State, 41 Fla. L. Weekly D2594, 205 So. 3d 834 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016); Landy v. State, 41 Fla. L. Weekly D2555, 205 So. 3d 801 (Fla. 2d DCA Nov. 16, 2016); Michel v. State, 204 So. 3d 101 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016). On remand, Mr. Wells is entitled to resentenc-ing pursuant to sections 775.082, 921.1401, a…
Authorities Cited
- Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (U.S. 2012)
- Horsley v. State, 160 So. 3d 393 (Fla. 2015)
- Atwell v. State, 197 So. 3d 1040 (Fla. 2016)
- Falcon v. State, 162 So. 3d 954 (Fla. 2015)
- Atwell v. State, 128 So. 3d 167 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)
- Ira Demetrius McPHERSON v. State, 138 So. 3d 1201 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)