Ex Parte Jimmy Williams, Jr. (in Re Jimmy Williams, Jr. v. State of Alabama)

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of Jimmy Williams Jr.'s postconviction petition seeking resentencing under the rule requiring individualized sentencing for juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. It held that the rule was procedural rather than substantive, was not a watershed rule, and therefore did not apply retroactively to Williams's final conviction. The court also held that his sentence was not illegal and that the sentencing court had jurisdiction to impose it under the law existing at the time. Justices Alito and Moore dissented, contending that the rule represented a substantive change requiring collateral review.