Kelley v. Gordon, 465 S.W.3d 842

In 1995 Ulonzo Gordon was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to mandatory life without parole; his judgment listed his birthdate as August 18, 1976.
Gordon later claimed his true birthdate was August 18, 1977, making him a juvenile at the time of the offense; he sought habeas relief under Miller v. Alabama.
The circuit court initially granted relief without following statutory habeas procedures; this Court remanded for proper habeas procedures.
On remand, the circuit court found probable cause, held a hearing, accepted that Gordon was born in 1977, and concluded Miller applies retroactively.
The circuit court vacated Gordon’s life-without-parole sentence and remanded for resentencing under Miller.
The State appealed, arguing Miller is not retroactive under Teague and challenging the court’s equal-protection/due-process rationale.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Retroactivity of Miller	Miller should apply retroactively to Gordon because he is similarly situated to Jackson and Miller announced a substantive rule protecting juveniles	Miller is not retroactive under Teague; prior cases (Roper, Graham) do not compel retroactivity; no state-law basis for retroactivity	Court affirmed: for evenhanded justice and fundamental fairness, Miller applies retroactively to Gordon and he gets a new sentencing hearing
Proper habeas procedure	Gordon complied once remanded; court followed habeas procedures on remand	State previously argued procedural defects (on earlier appeal)	On remand procedural requirements were satisfied; habeas was proper vehicle
Equal protection / due process	Treating Gordon like Jackson is required to avoid unequal treatment	State argued treating Gordon differently is permissible and relief upsets finality and harms victims’ interests	Court did not decide these claims because decision rests on retroactivity/evenhanded justice
Relief/remand remedy	Gordon should receive resentencing opportunity to present youth-related evidence per Miller	State urged denial or limited remedy	Court vacated life-without-parole sentence and remanded for resentencing under Miller principles

Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012) (holding mandatory life without parole for juveniles violates the Eighth Amendment)
Jackson v. Hobbs, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012) (consolidated companion to Miller; involved Arkansas petitioner)
Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005) (barred capital punishment for juveniles)
Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010) (barred life without parole for nonhomicide juvenile offenses)
Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288 (1989) (framework for retroactivity of new constitutional rules)
Danforth v. Minnesota, 552 U.S. 264 (2008) (states may afford broader retroactivity than Teague permits)
Jackson v. Norris, 2013 Ark. 175 (Ark. 2013) (this Court granted relief to an Arkansas juvenile petitioner under Miller and remanded for resentencing)