The Ohio Supreme Court has sharply split over whether a 112-year sentence for a teenager convicted of kidnapping and raping a Youngstown State student in 2001 is constitutional. The court ended up ruling against what is effectively a life sentence.
The sentence for 15-year-old Brandon Moore means he wouldn鈥檛 be eligible for parole until he鈥檚 92.
In the majority opinion, Justice Paul Pfeifer pointed to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that a juvenile not convicted of murder who鈥檚 demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation must be given a meaningful opportunity for release.
Moore鈥檚 attorney Rachel Bloomekatz argued before the court in February 2015 that a judge can鈥檛 decide at the outset that a juvenile is never fit to re-enter society.
鈥淎nd he can鈥檛 do that by giving a sentence that鈥檚 so long that it鈥檒l ensure the juvenile dies in prison.鈥�
But in the minority opinion, Justice Sharon Kennedy said that U.S. Supreme Court ruling was only for juveniles sentenced to life without parole, which wasn鈥檛 the case here.