Convicted of Murder Under Age 18 in Massachusetts?? Important Case Could Affect You! Call Attorney Mark Stevens today 603.893.0261 (24/7)

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued an important decision that effects the rights of people accused or convicted of first degree murder, where the murder occurred before the defendant was 18 years old.  In Diatchenko v. District Attorney, SJC Case Number 11453, issued December 24, 2013, the Court addressed the effect of the United States Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012), which held that the imposition of a sentence of life without possibility of parole on a defendant under age 18 at the time they committed the murder violated the Eighth Amendment's cruel and unusual punishment clause.

Thirty years ago, Diatchenko had been tried and convicted for a stabbing murder in Kenmore square when he was seventeen.  His conviction was affirmed in Commonwealth v. Diatchenko, 387 Mass. 718, 719 (1982). Today the Massachusetts SJC ruled that Miller applies retroactively, and that the imposition of a sentence of life without parole on a defendant under the age of 18 violates Article 26 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.

So, if you have been convicted and sentenced to life without parole in Massachusetts, and you were under 18 on the date of the actual offense, you may be entitled to immediate relief.  Please feel free to contact me for a free case evaluation.

Attorney Mark Stevens

    Law Offices of Mark Stevens
    5 Manor Parkway Salem, NH
    www.byebyedwi.com
    603.893.0074 24/7