Lamarion V.E. Thomas Missouri Cases

Lamarion V. E. Thomas, a juvenile offender, appealed the trial court's decision upholding the constitutionality of a statutorily mandated 15-year minimum sentence for forcible rape as applied to him. Thomas argued the mandatory minimum violated the Eighth Amendment and the Missouri Constitution by not allowing discretion for juvenile offenders. The Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment for juveniles apply only to mandatory life without parole sentences, not to terms of years with parole eligibility, and that the trial court had considered his circumstances.