Is it time to extend the Eighth Amendment protections enunciated in Miller v. Alabama to late adolescent homicide offenders?

QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW Dennis Hegstrom is currently serving a mandatory life sentence, with the possibility of parole after 25 years, for a homicide he committed in 1977 when he was just 7 months past his 18th birthday. As it stands, he has served roughly 42 years on his life sentence. Since 2001, he has been interviewed by Florida’s parole commission four times and has been denied parole each time; his current Presumptive Parole Release Date (“PPRD”) is 2089. Although Hegstrom may have a possibility of obtaining parole, it is highly unlikely that he will ever receive it given that 2089 is well beyond his life expectancy; and this is true despite his demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation in the decades since his crimes. In light of recent advances in neuroscience and developmental psychology, demonstrating that there is no difference between a 17-year-old and a late adolescent in terms of development, he asks this Court the following two questions: (1) Is It Time to Extend the Eighth Amendment Protections Enunciated in Miller v. Alabama to Late Adolescent Homicide Offenders Like Hegstrom (i.e., 18 to 21-yearolds), Who Are Serving Mandatory Life Sentences With No Hope of Future Release; If So, (2) Should Miller Also Be Extended to Late Adolescent Homicide Offenders Whose Life Sentences Are ParoleEligible, Where the Parole System Does Not Consider as a Mitigating Factor an Offender’s Youth and Immaturity at the Time of the Offense and Does Not Afford Offenders a Meaningful Opportunity to Obtain Release Based on Demonstrated Maturity and Rehabilitation? ul INTERESTED PARTIES There are no interested