DES MOINES, Iowa— An Iowa adolescent who pleaded guilty to fatally hitting his high school Spanish teacher with a baseball bat must serve 35 years in jail before being eligible for parole, the state’s highest court ruled Friday.
Willard Miller was 16 when he and another adolescent murdered Nohema Graber, a 66-year-old Fairfield High School teacher, in 2021. Miller was sentenced to life in prison with a mandated minimum number of years spent last year, but he filed an appeal with the Iowa Supreme Court, alleging that imposing a minimum sentence on juvenile offenders before parole eligibility is unconstitutional.
On Friday, the state Supreme Court unanimously supported the district court’s judgment, ruling that the court’s precedent specifically supports mandatory minimum sentences for juvenile offenders as long as the special circumstances of their case are taken into account. The judges stated that the district court judge utilized sentence factors adequately.
However, the Iowa Constitution prohibits young criminals from being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Miller and Jeremy Goodale, who was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 25 years, murdered Graber on November 2, 2021, at a park where the instructor often walked after school. Prosecutors said the kids were upset with Graber because of a poor grade she gave Miller.
The two were charged as adults, but due to their age, they did not face a required life term without parole for first-degree murder.
Miller acknowledged responsibility and apologized during his sentence hearing. His lawyers contended that he should be eligible for immediate parole. Lawyers representing the state recommended a minimum of 30 years.
Fairfield, a city of 9,400 people, lies approximately 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Des Moines.
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