Alabama Supreme Court denies appeal of man sentenced to life at 14 years old for 2003 murder

LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The Alabama Supreme Court has denied a petition from a Lawrence County man to appeal his sentence of life in prison without parole.

In a decision on Friday, Alabama’s high court quashed a request for a writ of certiorari, which is essentially a request to appeal, from Evan Miller. Miller was convicted of murder in 2003 at the age of 14.

The 5-4 decision comes without a written majority opinion, with Chief Justice Sarah Stewart offering a dissenting opinion on the decision.

Miller received a mandatory life sentence without parole for the murder of Cole Cannon, 52, in 2003. Authorities said Miller and a friend robbed Cannon and beat him with their hands and a baseball bat before setting his trailer on fire.

In 2012, Miller appealed his case to the United States Supreme Court, posing the question of whether a minor could be sentenced to a mandatory life in prison without parole. The Supreme Court ruled that Miller and other people convicted of capital murder as juveniles needed to be resentenced.

After that decision, Miller was resentenced to life without parole by a Lawrence County Judge in 2021.