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Post-Graham resentencing of juve rapist in Florida already testing meaning of Graham

By Douglas A. Berman

This local article from Florida, which is headlined "Teenage rapist Jose Walle re-sentenced to 65 years in prison," spotlights the impact of, and enduring questions surrounding, the Supreme Court's recent Graham decision declaring unconstitutional any LWOP sentence for a nonhomicide juvenile offender. Here is how the piece starts: Circuit Judge Chet A. Tharpe disagreed with a U.S. Supreme Court decision forcing him to re-sentence teenage rapist Jose Walle, who was only 13 when he terrorized two Apollo Beach waitresses at gunpoint.  But on Wednesday, he obeyed the high court, which deemed life sentences unconstitutional for juveniles who didn't kill. Walle hung his head as Tharpe sentenced him to 65 years in prison, which he will begin to serve after completing the 27 years he got in Pinellas for another rape...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on November 17, 2010 (boomark / email).