3/8/16 Florida Supreme Court Oral Arguments: Laisha Landrum v. State, SC15-1071
Ms. Landrum was convicted of second-degree murder. At the time of the crime, she was 16. The trial court had the discretion to sentence Ms. Landrum to either life in prison without the possibility of parole or to prison for a term of years. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She asked to be resentenced. The Second District Court of Appeal ordered the trial court to consider her request in light of the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Miller v. Alabama that declared unconstitutional sentencing schemes that require juveniles to life in prison without the possibility of parole without considering the juvenile’s youth at the time of their crime. After considering Ms. Landrum’s motion for resentencing, the trial court denied it. The 2nd DCA upheld that ruling but certified the issue as one of great public importance for this Court’s review.