Miller’s Life Before the Sentence
The case of Miller v. Alabama revolves around Evan Miller, a fourteen-year-old teenager who murdered his neighbor in 2003. Evan Miller lived in a trailer with his alcohol and drug-addicted mother and stepfather, who were abusing the boy (Miller v. Alabama, 2012). Under the influence of other people, the boy used drugs and participated in drinking alcohol at a young age. When Evan was six years old, he attempted to take his own life but did not succeed. Later, he would try doing so three more times before his conviction (Miller v. Alabama, 2012). One night Evan and his friend were at his neighbor Colby Smith’s trailer. They spent the evening smoking and drinking alcohol. At some point, Colby passed out, and Evan decided to rob him but was caught by woken up Colby. They engaged in a fight which led to Colby losing consciousness. Later Miller decided to set the trailer on fire with his knocked-out neighbor in it, who eventually died of smoke inhalation.
The Eighth Amendment
It is argued whether underaged teenagers should or should not be punished like adult people. In the case of Evan Miller, the Eighth Amendment received attention because it opposes convicting with life imprisonment those who committed crimes being underage, without giving them a chance of parole (Miller v. Alabama, 2012). In Miller’s case, there were special circumstances to his trial. The first is that Evan was raised in a dysfunctional family and had suicidal tendencies, which had affected his behavior and resulted in the killing. The second circumstance is that the State of Alabama decided to charge Miller with murder as an adult despite him being fourteen (Miller v. Alabama, 2012). However, Evan being influenced by others and thus engaging in a fight with Colby does not justify killing another person. After the fight, Miller went home but then returned to the neighbor’s trailer, knowing that unconscious Colby was in there, and intentionally set the trailer on fire (Miller v. Alabama, 2012). Eventually, Miller was convicted of life imprisonment and not given a chance of getting parole.
The Ultimate Decision
Despite Miller’s final sentencing, there are changes to convicting juveniles these days. In the past fifteen years, the Supreme Court limited the ability of courts to sentence underage offenders to life imprisonment. In 2012, the Court in the case of Miller v. Alabama partially prohibited sentencing underage offenders to life in prison (Marshall, 2020). The Court stated an offender’s “age and the wealth of characteristics and circumstances attendant to it” have to be examined (Marshall, 2020, p. 1633). The Court’s decision to investigate in detail each case involving juveniles affects the judicial system but requires a lot of work to become efficient.
“Cruel and Unusual”
Whether sentencing a 14-year-old who has murdered someone to life imprisonment should be considered “cruel and unusual” is a matter for debate. Each case must be treated individually, and each sentence has to be rational to the case. Unless the offenders committed serious crimes without being diagnosed with crucial mental disabilities, they should have a possibility of parole if they received proper rehabilitation in prison and understand the consequences of their crimes.
The Same Punishment
Even if a juvenile and an adult commit similar crimes, they are not the same people, and they most likely will have different backgrounds and circumstances for breaking the law. As said above, each case must be treated individually. However, it may be fair to punish not only a juvenile but punish the legal guardians as well, depending on the severity of the crime. Research shows that out of people who were placed in prison as teenagers, about 80% witnessed domestic violence, and more than 40% have suffered from physical abuse (Rovner, 2021). Since children are more likely to commit crimes due to violence at home, the punishment of their parental figures may be reasonable to set an example and decrease violence.
References
Marshall, M. (2020). Miller v. Alabama and the problem of prediction. Columbia Law Review, 119(6), 1633–1670.
Miller v. Alabama. (2012). Supreme Court of the United States, 132 S.Ct. 245.
Rovner, J. (2021). Juvenile life without parole: An overview. Sentencing Project.