Jones v. Mississippi

Jones v. Mississippi is a United States Supreme Court case regarding the use of mandatory juvenile life sentences.[1]

Jones v. Mississippi
Argued November 3, 2020
Full case nameBrett Jones v. State of Mississippi
Docket no.18-1259
Case history
Prior
  • Defendant convicted in Lee County Circuit Court; conviction affirmed, Jones v. State, 938 So. 2d 312 (Miss. Ct. App. 2006)
  • Denial of post-conviction relief affirmed, 122 So. 3d 725 (Miss. Ct. App. 2011)
  • Affirmed in part, reversed in part, 122 So. 3d 698 (Miss. 2013)
  • On remand, 285 So. 3d 626 (Miss. Ct. App. 2017)
  • Cert. granted sub nom., Jones v. Mississippi, 140 S. Ct. 1293 (2020)
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas · Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan · Neil Gorsuch
Brett Kavanaugh · Amy Coney Barrett

Background

In August 9, 2004, 15-year-old Mississippi resident Brett Jones fatally knifed his grandfather Bertis after a confrontation over Brett's girlfriend. Jones claimed in court his action was in self-defense. In 2005, he was convicted in Lee County Circuit Court and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence under state law.[1][2][3]

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in Miller v. Alabama that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for juveniles was considered a cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and that judges in such cases should be able to consider other factors that may influence such acts.[4] The ruling of Miller v. Alabama was made retroactive to all previous cases in the Supreme Court's decision Montgomery v. Louisiana.[5] The decision of Montgomery barred the use of life sentences without parole "for all but the rarest of juvenile offenders, those whose crimes reflect permanent incorrigibility".[2] Following Miller and Montgomery, several states adjusted their laws to reflect the Court's rulings but Mississippi remained a state where life sentences could still be handed to juveniles determined to be incorrigible.[6]

The state of Mississippi granted Jones a rehearing as a result of Montgomery, but still reconvicted him to a life sentence without parole.[7] According to Jones' lawyer, the state court failed to consider any aspect related to the "permanent incorrigibility" or potential for rehabilitation, thus violating the ruling from Montgomery, and thus sought appeals through the Supreme Court.[2]

Supreme Court

Prior to certifying Jones' case, the Supreme Court had been considering the case of Mathena v. Malvo (Docket 18-217), a similar case out of Virginia involving Lee Boyd Malvo which raised the question if courts must determine if a juvenile is deemed incorrigible before passing a life sentence. Oral arguments had been held in October 2019, during which the Justices referred back to Montgomery; Justice Kavanaugh recognized that a ruling had to differentiate "someone who's merely immature as opposed to incorrigible". Due to a change in Virginia's state law, the case was rendered moot before the Court could deliver the opinion.[2]

Jones' case was certified by the Supreme Court in March 2020.[2] Oral hearings were held on November 3, 2020.[6]

See also

References
  1. Gresko, Jessica (3 November 2020). "Supreme Court to hear case about juvenile life sentences". Associated Press. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  2. Liptak, Adam (March 9, 2020). "Supreme Court to Consider When Juveniles May Get Life Without Parole". The New York Times. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  3. "Jones v. Mississippi". Cornell Law School. Legal Information Institute. November 3, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  4. Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012).
  5. Montgomery v. Louisiana, No. 14-280, 577 U.S. ___ (2016).
  6. Kruzel, John (November 3, 2020). "Supreme Court weighs limits to juvenile life sentences". The Hill. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  7. State v. Jones, 285 So. 3d 626 (Miss. Ct. App. 2017).
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