Kuntrell Jackson v. Larry Norris

Summary

Justice Danielson dissented from affirming the denial of habeas relief, reasoning that mandatory life without parole for a fourteen-year-old accomplice to felony murder was disproportionate under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments and the Arkansas Constitution. He emphasized that Jackson neither possessed the weapon nor intended to kill and that the sentencing court could not consider his age or mitigating circumstances. Justice Brown, concurring, agreed that the mandatory sentencing scheme warranted legislative review but considered the controlling Supreme Court precedent inapplicable to this homicide case.