People v. Smith

On remand from the appellate court, defendant filed a second-amended successive post-conviction petition challenging his de facto life sentence under Miller v. Alabama and the State conceded he was entitled to a new sentencing hearing. The defendant, who was a minor at the time of the offense, then appealed his subsequent re-sentencing, arguing the circuit court abused its discretion when it increased his first-degree murder sentence from the statutory minimum based, in part, on the aggravating factor of deterring others. The appellate court affirmed, holding that sentencing courts can consider deterrence of others in imposing a discretionary sentence on a juvenile offender. (KNECTH and CAVANAGH, concurring)