State v. Dejaynes-Beaman, 8 N.W.3d 779

Daniel Dejaynes-Beaman, age 18 at the time of the offense, pled no contest to charges of second degree murder and use of a deadly weapon (not a firearm) in connection with the stabbing death of Jolene Harshbarger.
After accepting the plea, the district court sentenced him to 65 years to life for murder and 40–50 years for weapon use, to run consecutively.
Dejaynes-Beaman's defense introduced extensive mitigating evidence related to his troubled childhood, mental health problems, and underdeveloped impulse control due to his age.
At sentencing, the district court stated it considered all mitigating evidence, statutory factors, and recommendations in the pre-sentence report.
On appeal, Dejaynes-Beaman did not challenge his conviction, but argued his sentence was unconstitutional (as cruel and unusual punishment) and an abuse of discretion.

Issue	Dejaynes-Beaman's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Constitutionality under 8th Amendment (Miller)	Sentence is a de facto life term; Miller v. Alabama protections should extend to him at 18	Miller does not apply to those 18 or older; sentence not mandatory life without parole	Miller’s rule does not apply; sentence constitutional
Abuse of Discretion in Sentencing	District court failed to fully consider mitigating factors from his background	Court reviewed and weighed all relevant mitigating evidence	No abuse of discretion; sentence affirmed

Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (mandatory life without parole unconstitutional for offenders under 18)
Jones v. Mississippi, 593 U.S. 98 (Miller only requires sentencing discretion, not a particular outcome)
State v. Stack, 307 Neb. 773 (sets out relevant sentencing factors and appellate review standard)
State v. Wetherell, 289 Neb. 312 (Miller protections do not extend to offenders who were 18 at time of offense)