Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/11pdf/10-9646.pdf
Page Number: 7.0

Cite as:  567 U. S. ____ (2012) 

3 

Opinion of the Court 

dents  of  car  theft),  the  trial  court  denied  the  motion,  and
an  appellate  court  affirmed.    See  Jackson  v.  State,  No. 
02–535,  2003  WL  193412,  *1  (Ark.  App.,  Jan.  29,  2003);
§§9–27–318(d), (e).  A jury later convicted Jackson of both 
crimes.  Noting that “in view of [the] verdict, there’s only
one possible punishment,” the judge sentenced Jackson to
life without parole.  App. in No. 10–9647, p. 55 (hereinaf-
ter Jackson App.); see Ark. Code Ann. §5–4–104(b) (1997) 
(“A defendant convicted of capital murder or treason shall 
be  sentenced  to  death  or  life  imprisonment  without  pa-
role”).1  Jackson did not challenge the sentence on appeal, 
and  the  Arkansas  Supreme  Court  affirmed  the  convic-
tions.  See 359 Ark. 87, 194 S. W. 3d 757. 

Following  Roper  v.  Simmons,  543  U. S.  551  (2005),  in
which  this  Court  invalidated  the  death  penalty  for  all
juvenile  offenders  under  the  age  of  18,  Jackson  filed  a
state  petition  for  habeas  corpus.  He  argued,  based  on 
Roper’s reasoning, that a mandatory sentence of life with-
out  parole  for  a  14-year-old  also  violates  the  Eighth
Amendment.  The circuit court rejected that argument and
granted  the  State’s  motion  to  dismiss.    See  Jackson  App. 
72–76.  While  that  ruling  was  on  appeal,  this  Court  held 
in Graham v. Florida that life without parole violates the
Eighth  Amendment  when  imposed  on  juvenile  nonhomi-
cide  offenders.  After  the  parties  filed  briefs  addressing 
that  decision,  the  Arkansas  Supreme  Court  affirmed  the 
dismissal  of  Jackson’s  petition.    See  Jackson  v.  Norris, 
2011  Ark.  49,  ___  S. W.  3d  ___.  The  majority  found  that 
Roper  and  Graham  were  “narrowly  tailored”  to  their  con-
texts:  “death-penalty  cases  involving  a  juvenile  and  life-
imprisonment-without-parole  cases  for  nonhomicide  of-

—————— 

1 Jackson  was  ineligible  for  the  death  penalty  under  Thompson  v. 
Oklahoma,  487  U. S.  815  (1988)  (plurality  opinion),  which  held  that 
capital punishment of offenders under the age of 16 violates the Eighth
Amendment.