Appeals Court Rules 55 Years Is Not A Life Sentence
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/NSF) — Nearly six years after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling about life sentences for juvenile felons, a Florida appeals court said Monday that a potential 55-year prison term does not equate to a life sentence.
The 1st District Court of Appeal upheld the potential 55 years in prison for Anthony Julian Collins, who was convicted on charges for attempted second-degree murder, carjacking with a firearm and attempted armed robbery for an incident that occurred when he was 16 years, 10 months old.
Collins was sentenced in 2007 in Duval County to life in prison, with a minimum mandatory of 25 years, for the attempted murder charge and another 20 years, with a minimum mandatory 10 years, on the carjacking charge.
But the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 2010 ruling known as Graham v. Florida, banned life sentences without a "meaningful opportunity" for release for juveniles convicted of non-homicide crimes.
That forced a resentencing for Collins and other juveniles who had received life sentences. Collins' new sentence required him to serve 35 years, with a minimum mandatory of 25 years, for the attempted-murder charge and kept in place the 20-year sentence on the carjacking charge. Collins' attorney appealed the new sentence, but the appeals court said the potential 55 years in prison is not a "de facto life sentence" and noted that the shooting victim in the case was paralyzed.
"In light of our binding precedent and the horrific injuries and the excruciating pain and suffering that appellant's (Collins') crimes caused the victim, we find the sentence imposed by the trial court here to be legally valid and within that court's proper discretion,'' said the ruling, written by appeals-court Judge Brad Thomas.
Judge Ross Bilbrey agreed that the sentence did not equate to life in prison but said Collins should be able to receive a review of his sentence after 20 years. Bilbrey's position stemmed from part of a 2014 law that the Legislature passed to address the U.S. Supreme Court decision.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
