Current:Home > NewsIowa teen who killed teacher must serve 35 years before being up for parole-InfoLens
Iowa teen who killed teacher must serve 35 years before being up for parole
View Date:2024-12-23 14:35:44
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa teen who pleaded guilty to beating his high school Spanish teacher to death with a baseball bat must serve 35 years in prison before the possibility of parole, the state’s high court reaffirmed Friday.
Willard Miller was 16 when he and another teen killed Nohema Graber, a 66-year-old teacher at Fairfield High School, in 2021. Miller was sentenced last year to life in prison with a mandatory minimum number of years served, but he appealed his sentence to the Iowa Supreme Court, arguing it’s unconstitutional to sentence juvenile offenders to a minimum term before parole eligibility.
The state Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the district court’s decision, finding that the court’s precedent explicitly allows mandatory minimums for juvenile offenders so long as the unique factors of their case are considered. The justices said the district court judge applied sentencing factors appropriately.
The Iowa Constitution does, however, prohibit sentencing juvenile offenders to life without the possibility of parole.
Miller and Jeremy Goodale, who was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 25 years, killed Graber on Nov. 2, 2021, in a park where the teacher routinely walked after school. Prosecutors said the teens were angry at Graber because of a bad grade she had given Miller.
The two were charged as adults, but because of their age they were not subject to a mandatory sentence of life without parole for first-degree murder.
At his sentencing hearing, Miller accepted responsibility and apologized. His lawyers argued he should be eligible for immediate parole. Lawyers for the state recommended a minimum of 30 years.
Fairfield, a city of 9,400 people, is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Des Moines.
veryGood! (9261)
Related
- Georgia lawmaker proposes new gun safety policies after school shooting
- Queen Camilla honored with Barbie doll: 'You've taken about 50 years off my life'
- When is Selection Sunday for women’s March Madness? When brackets will be released.
- 1 dead and 1 missing after kayak overturns on Connecticut lake
- NBC's hospital sitcom 'St. Denis Medical' might heal you with laughter: Review
- Why Arnold Schwarzenegger's Son Joseph Baena Doesn't Use His Dad's Last Name
- Utah prison discriminated against transgender woman, Department of Justice finds
- 16 SWAT officers hospitalized after blast at training facility in Southern California
- Satire publication The Onion acquires Alex Jones' Infowars at auction
- Eugene Levy talks 'The Reluctant Traveler' Season 2, discovering family history
Ranking
- Spirit Airlines cancels release of Q3 financial results as debt restructuring talks heat up
- Going abroad? Time to check if you're up to date on measles immunity, CDC says
- Brewers' Devin Williams expected to miss at least 3 months due to stress fractures in back
- 500 pounds of pure snake: Massive python nest snagged in Southwest Florida
- Kyle Richards Swears This Holiday Candle Is the Best Scent Ever and She Uses It All Year
- Powerball winning numbers for March 13, 2024 drawing: Jackpot up to $600 million
- Star Wars’ Child Actor Jake Lloyd in Mental Health Facility After Suffering Psychotic Break
- Dog deaths revive calls for end to Iditarod, the endurance race with deep roots in Alaska tradition
Recommendation
-
RHOBH's Kyle Richards Addresses PK Kemsley Cheating Rumors in the Best Way Possible
-
Kenny Payne fired as Louisville men's basketball coach after just 12 wins in two seasons
-
Oklahoma teen Nex Benedict’s cause of death revealed in autopsy report
-
Majority of U.S. adults are against college athletes joining unions, according to AP-NORC survey
-
Demure? Brain rot? Oxford announces shortlist for 2024 Word of the Year: Cast your vote
-
Texas man who used an iron lung for decades after contracting polio as a child dies at 78
-
Student pilot tried to open Alaska Airlines plane cockpit multiple times mid-flight, complaint says
-
500 pounds of pure snake: Massive python nest snagged in Southwest Florida