New York Court of Appeals
The People of the State of New York, Appellant v. Angela C. Thompson, Respondent
March 30, 199483 N.Y.2d 477
Summary
The Court of Appeals held that the mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years to life for a Class A‑I drug felony does not violate the New York Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment as applied to a seventeen‑year‑old defendant, and therefore reversed the Appellate Division’s affirmation of the lower court’s eight‑year minimum sentence, remanding for resentencing in accordance with the statutory mandatory minimum. Justice Bellacosa dissented, arguing the sentence is grossly disproportionate.