Miller v. Alabama

     In Alabama, Miller went to a trailer to rob a man and beat a man with a baseball bat and then left him in a trailer and set it on fire for him to die. In the state court, Miller was convicted of capitol murdered and sentenced to life in prison with no parole as a 14-year-old minor. When the decision was made, Miller decided to appeal, saying that his 8th amendment rights were being violated. His conviction was confirmed by the Alabama Court of Appeals by saying tat he did not say that the punishment was cruel and unusual. Miller’s petition for a writ of certiorari was denied by the Alabama Supreme Court.
     "On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, Miller argues that the mandatory sentencing scheme under which he was sentenced precludes consideration of his age or any other mitigating circumstances and is therefore in violation of both the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Further, Miller argues that in Roper v. Simmons and Graham v. Florida, the Supreme Court recognized that age is a critical feature in determining a defendant’s culpability, and that by ignoring his age in sentencing the trial court violated the Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment."

http://www.willamette.edu/wucl/resources/journals/wlo/scotus/2012/03/miller-v-alabama-2.html