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Appeals Court Says 55 Isn't Life

Florida's First District Court of Appeal
adam theo via wikimedia commons

A Florida appeals court has upheld a 55 year jail sentence for a man convicted of three felonies as a juvenile.

In 2007 a Duval county court sentenced Anthony Julian Collins to life in prison for attempted second degree murder, carjacking and attempted armed robbery.  He was sixteen when he committed the crimes. 

But three years later the U.S. Supreme court rejected life sentences for juveniles convicted of non-homicide crimes.  In resentencing, Collins’ prison time was reduced to 55 years.  Collins’ lawyers argued putting him behind bars for more than half a century is still—in effect—a life sentence. 

The First District Court of Appeal disagrees.  In a ruling penned by Judge Bradford Thomas the court notes after serving the full sentence Collins would still be younger than life expectancy.

Nick Evans came to Tallahassee to pursue a masters in communications at Florida State University. He graduated in 2014, but not before picking up an internship at WFSU. While he worked on his degree Nick moved from intern, to part-timer, to full-time reporter. Before moving to Tallahassee, Nick lived in and around the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years. He listens to far too many podcasts and is a die-hard 49ers football fan. When Nick’s not at work he likes to cook, play music and read.