It’s not unusual for the West Virginia Legislature to pass a law that has unintended consequences. In fairness to lawmakers, it’s difficult to foresee the universal impact of their actions.
Earlier this year the Legislature overwhelmingly approved HB 4210 and Governor Tomblin signed the bill into law. The purpose, lawmakers believed, was to bring the state into compliance with a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision prohibiting a mandatory life without parole sentence for juvenile offenders when tried and convicted as adults.
The court, in a 5-4 ruling in Miller v. Alabama, reasoned that children have less moral culpability for serious crimes because they have not yet matured. Therefore, a required life sentence for a juvenile offender is a violation of the 8th amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
We may agree or disagree with the decision—obviously the court was divided—but the rub comes because West Virginia officials have determined the new West Virginia law should be applied retroactively. That means a juvenile prosecuted as an adult for a heinous crime that resulted in a jury conviction and a sentence of life without parole now becomes eligible for parole after 15 years.
That has Taylor County Prosecuting Attorney John Bord fuming. He says the Legislature “blew it.”
Bord was notified earlier this month that the West Virginia State Parole Board has scheduled a parole hearing in September for Larry Donald Hall. Nearly 20 years ago Hall, who was two weeks shy of his 18th birthday at the time, committed a particularly brutal murder. He was tried as an adult, convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.
Bord admits it is unlikely Hall will win parole, but the victim’s family will have to relive the tragedy and know there is at least a possibility that Hall will one day be released from jail.
It’s believed there are a half dozen cases like Hall’s in West Virginia. “I think the Legislature needs to revisit this,” Bord told me on Metronews Talkline Monday.
That’s possible, especially if other prosecuting attorneys raise a fuss. The bill’s lead sponsor, Delegate Barbara Fleischauer (D-Monongalia) told the Clarksburg Exponent, “I wouldn’t be opposed to making sure we did the right thing… I think our main intention was to be consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court case.”
Other states are also sorting out how Miller v. Alabama should be interpreted, and the results are mixed. Courts in Florida and Nebraska have ruled that it should be applied retroactively, while Alabama, Louisiana, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Michigan have decided to leave in place existing life sentences for juvenile offenders convicted of serious crimes.
I doubt most West Virginia lawmakers knew the full ramifications of their vote on HB 4210. Had they, the vote would not have been so one sided. The close court decisions on Miller are a good indication of the polarity of the issue.
Lawmakers should revisit the new law and make sure this time they understand the full consequences of their actions.