Nature of the Case
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Facts
D was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in elementary school. He began drinking alcohol and using tobacco at age 9 and smoked marijuana at age 13. When 16, he and three other school-age youths attempted to rob a barbeque restaurant. The restaurant manager required stitches for his head injury. No money was taken. D was arrested for the robbery attempt charged as an adult. D pleaded guilty under a plea agreement. The court withheld adjudication of guilt as to both charges and sentenced D to concurrent 3-year terms of probation. Graham was required to spend the first 12 months of his probation in the county jail, but he received credit for the time he had served awaiting trial and was released on June 25, 2004. Less than 6 months later, D again was arrested. D participated in a home invasion robbery. Later the same evening, D attempted a second robbery, during which a confederate was shot. D, who had borrowed his father's car, drove his accomplices to the hospital and left them there. As D drove away, a police sergeant signaled him to stop. D continued at a high speed but crashed into a telephone pole. He tried to flee on foot but was apprehended. Three handguns were found in his car. D denied involvement in the crimes. One of the detectives told D that the victims of the home invasion had identified him. He asked D, 'Aside from the two robberies tonight how many more were you involved in?' D responded, 'Two to three before tonight.' The night that D allegedly committed the robbery, he was 34 days short of his 18th birthday. D had violated the conditions of his probation by possessing a firearm, committing crimes, and associating with persons engaged in criminal activity. The court found that D had violated his probation by committing a home invasion robbery, by possessing a firearm, and by associating with persons engaged in criminal activity. The trial court found D guilty of the earlier armed burglary and attempted armed robbery charges. It sentenced him to the maximum sentence authorized by law on each charge: life imprisonment for the armed burglary and 15 years for the attempted armed robbery. Because Florida has abolished its parole system, a life sentence gives a defendant no possibility of release unless he is granted executive clemency. D challenged his sentence under the Eighth Amendment. The motion was deemed denied after the trial court failed to rule on it within 60 days. The First District Court of Appeal of Florida affirmed, concluding that D's sentence was not grossly disproportionate to his crimes. The Florida Supreme Court denied review. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.
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