Opinion
Case No. 2D15–5723
03-31-2017
Henry Martin DAVIS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Valdoston Shealey, Jr., of The Shealey Firm, P.A., Mullica Hill, New Jersey, for Appellant. Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Kiersten Jensen, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.
Valdoston Shealey, Jr., of The Shealey Firm, P.A., Mullica Hill, New Jersey, for Appellant.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Kiersten Jensen, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.
PER CURIAM.
Henry Martin Davis appeals the order denying his motion filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) seeking relief under Graham v. Florida , 560 U.S. 48, 82, 130 S.Ct. 2011, 176 L.Ed.2d 825 (2010) (holding that the Eighth Amendment forbids a life sentence without parole for a juvenile offender who committed a nonhomicide offense), and Atwell v. State , 197 So.3d 1040 (Fla. 2016). We reverse and remand for resentencing.
In 1972, Davis was sentenced to concurrent terms of life imprisonment for rape and robbery. At that time, a defendant sentenced to life imprisonment was eligible for parole. See § 947.16(1), Fla. Stat. (1971). In Atwell , the supreme court concluded that Florida's existing parole system does not provide for individualized consideration of a defendant's juvenile status at the time of his or her offense. 197 So.3d at 1041. As a result, a life sentence with parole eligibility is virtually indistinguishable from a life sentence without parole. Id. The court held that the remedy for such an unconstitutional sentence is resentencing in conformance with chapter 2014–220, Laws of Florida. Id. at 1050 (citing Horsley v. State , 160 So.3d 393, 399 (Fla. 2015) ).
Accordingly, we reverse the order denying Davis's rule 3.800(a) motion and remand for resentencing under sections 921.1401 and .1402, Florida Statutes (2016), which codified chapter 14–220.Reversed and remanded for resentencing.
WALLACE, LaROSE, and ROTHSTEIN–YOUAKIM, JJ., Concur.