Florida Supreme Court throws out 70-year sentence of Jacksonville 14-year-old - Florida Times-Union
The Florida Supreme Court has thrown out the 70-year prison sentence of a Jacksonville man who was 14 at the time he was arrested for attempted murder. The ruling ordering a new sentencing for Shimeeka Gridine, who is now 20, was part of four separate rulings that the Supreme Court issued Thursday that put new limits on how long someone can be locked up for a crime that occurred before the... Rob Mason, the head of the Jacksonville area’s public defender’s juvenile division, said hundreds of people facing life sentences in Florida will need to be re-sentenced. In issuing these rulings the Florida Supreme Court appears to be coming into compliance with two U. S. Supreme Court rulings, one of which also originated in Jacksonville, that put limits on how long juveniles can be in prison. “It’s a great day for kids and a great day for Florida,” said Jacksonville attorney Bryan Gowdy, who got the ball rolling on this issue when he represented Terrance Jamar Graham before the U. S. Supreme Court in 2010. Graham was sentenced to life... Source: jacksonville.com
