Whether the proper analysis to determine a threshold showing of gross disproportionality on an Eighth Amendment claim

QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW This Court has established that a criminal sentence may be so grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the offense of conviction that the sentence violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments. See Graham v. Florida, 130 S. Ct. 2011, 2021-22 (2010). In analyzing a claim of an Eighth Amendment violation based on gross disproportionality, a court must first conduct an initial comparison of the gravity of the criminal offense and the severity of the corresponding sentence to determine whether there is a threshold inference of gross disproportionality. This petition presents the following questions: L What is the proper analysis to determine whether there is a threshold showing of an inference of gross disproportionality on an Eighth Amendment claim? Il. Is the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit correct in holding that “a defendant whose sentence falls within the limits imposed by statute cannot make the threshold showing of gross disproportionality” on an Eighth Amendment claim? i INTERESTED PARTIES There are no