Sullivan Vs Florida Case Study

Sullivan vs. Florida was a very high profiled case in 1989. Joe Sullivan was a 13-year-old African American boy, who was also mentally disabled. Joe was accused of sexually assaulting an elderly white woman hours after he and 2 other juveniles robbed her for her jewelry and coins. Joe was the youngest child to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was tried as an adult because he a prior felony conviction on his record (Sullivan v. Florida). The jury only took 35 minutes to convict Sullivan. Even though there was no physical or biological evidence linking Sullivan to the crime, as well as the lack of testimony from the victim, who was unable to identify her attacker; poor Sullivan was sentenced to life without parole (Agyepong, children left behind

Sullivan has tried several times to appeal his conviction, due to the argument that life without parole is unconstitutional. In May of 2009 the U.S Supreme Court will hear his case. During the United States Supreme Court session Sullivan argued that his sentenced was breaking the Constitution of the Eight Amendment of cruel and unusual punishment (Sullivan v. Florida, 2008). Sullivan referred to the Roper v. Simmons (2005) case thought his trial, by saying that life without parole is very similar to the death sentence and even then those offenders at least are offered parole (Sullivan v. Florida, 2008). In a desperate plea to show the difference between juvenile serving life without parole and juvenile death sentenced, Sullivan justified that juveniles who are sentenced to life in prison without parole “constitutional vice involved in punishing children with death was the impropriety of passing a final, condemnatory judgment on a still unformed human being” (Roper v Simmons, 2005, p. 570). Sullivan also pointed out that some laws on children being able to do things without being a certain age such as voting, driving, marriage, tattoos, and the purchasing age of alcohol (Sullivan v.