Terrance Graham, from Jacksonville, was the plaintiff in the Supreme Court decision that ruled children cannot be sentenced to die in prison for non-capital crimes.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Terrance Graham’s 2010 case won inmates around the country their freedom. But he stayed behind bars.
A court ruling Tuesday will change that.
Graham was arrested at 17 after an armed burglary in Jacksonville. He was with two accomplices; none of them got any money, and it was an accomplice, not Graham, that participated in the violence. But it was Graham’s second arrest, and he violated probation by being part of the crime.
His attorney, Bryan Gowdy, asked for five years; prosecutors asked for thirty. The judge went for the maximum penalty.
By age 19, Graham had been sentenced to spend his entire life in state prison.
Not willing to accept the sentence, Gowdy appealed Graham’s case all the way to the Supreme Court. The case, Graham v. Florida, became a landmark decision.
In 2010, the court ruled that minors cannot be sentenced to life, unless the crime is murder. This guideline is sometimes referred to as the Terrance Graham law.
The decision had a huge influence. At the time of the decision, 128 offenders got a chance to be resentenced. Some were released.
Some of these offenders write to Graham, thanking him for their freedom; a 2017 article by the Florida-Times Union describes him reading them from prison.
Graham was resentenced in February 2012, but the judge imposed another strict sentence. He was not expected to be released until Aug. 27, 2026.
However, Tuesday, a Duval County judge ruled Graham’s sentence would be reduced. He will be released to the Prisoners of Christ program and spend two years under community control (a more restrictive form of probation), before serving regular probation for three years.
Graham could be leaving prison within a matter of days.
In an interview with the Times-Union, he said he dreams of going to college, having his writing published, telling people his story and having a family. Now 37, Graham will get a real chance at those dreams for the first time in a long, long time.
