KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In November 2015, 16-year-old Tyshon Booker was involved in a fatal shooting in Knoxville. He was convicted of murder and especially aggravated robbery. He was given a life sentence for the murder conviction, which requires him to be incarcerated for 51 years at a minimum.
On Friday, the Tennessee Supreme Court said that his sentence was unconstitutional, saying it was "cruel and unusual punishment" and that it violated his juvenile rights guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
While they ruled the sentence unconstitutional, they did not change his sentence. Instead, they granted him a chance for parole after he serves between 25 and 36 years in prison so that his age and other circumstances could be considered.
"We need not create a new sentencing scheme or resentence Mr. Booker—his life sentence stands," the majority opinion said. "Rather, we follow the policy embodied in the federal Constitution ... and grant Mr. Booker an individualized parole hearing where his age and other circumstances will be properly considered."
They said that when the court originally convicted him, the judge could not consider Booker's age due to the mandatory life sentencing law. He was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for the robbery conviction, which ran alongside his life sentence.
The state Supreme Court said the U.S. Supreme Court ruled judges must have the discretion to impose a lesser sentence on juvenile homicide offenders according to the Eighth Amendment. They said that in Booker's case, the judge did not have that sentencing discretion.
They also said the state's automatic life sentence of up to 60 years in prison for juvenile homicide offenders is different from other states. They said no other states have a similar law, and most states allow juvenile homicide offenders are eligible for release in less than 35 years.
They granted him the chance for parole based on the previous version of the state statute, which was in effect before July 1, 1995. It sentences offenders to a term of 60 years, with release eligibility at 60% of the time served but not less than 25 years.
So, Booker remains sentenced to 60 years in prison but will have a chance at parole after serving 25 years at a minimum.
"Our limited ruling, applying only to juvenile homicide offenders, promotes the State’s interest in finality and efficient use of resources, protects Mr. Booker’s Eighth Amendment rights, and is based on sentencing policy enacted by the General Assembly," the majority opinion said.
Justice Jeff Bivins and Chief Justice Roger Page dissented. They said they believe any finding of a constitutional violation goes beyond precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court, in this case. Instead of the ruling, they said they believed judicial restraint would have required the state Supreme Court to defer to the legislative branch.
Justice Holly Kirby wrote a separate, concurring opinion emphasizing that Tennessee is the only state where juveniles face a mandatory life sentence for first-degree murder with no other factors.
Advocacy groups in Tennessee have pushed for the law to change for several years. In February 2022, they said around 1,300 people were serving life sentences in the state and more than half of the offenders were 25 years old or younger when they were charged. They also said around 72% of those people are Black.