Bowen v. Hobbs

Summary

The court affirmed the dismissal of Jamie Bowen’s habeas petition. It held that his life sentence for a murder committed at age seventeen was not illegal because the sentencing scheme permitted the jury to impose a range of terms, making the sentence discretionary rather than mandatory under the Eighth Amendment. The court also held that ineffective-assistance claims are not cognizable in habeas proceedings and must be raised through the applicable postconviction procedure.