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Ohio Supreme Court Considers Constitutionality of Juvenile's 112-year Sentence

Brandon Moore's attorney Rachel Bloomekatz told the Ohio Supreme Court that his 112-year sentence for kidnapping, robbery, and gang rape violates a US Supreme Court decision that said juveniles cannot be imprisoned for life for crimes other than murder.

"What a judge cannot do is decide that a juvenile non-homicide offender is never fit to re-enter society at the outset. And he can't do that by giving a sentence that's so long that it'll ensure the juvenile dies in prison."

But assistant Mahoning County prosecutor Ralph Rivera said that ruling related to a juvenile's conviction of just one crime, not of many.

"The United States Supreme Court was strictly and only speaking to a life sentence, a direct life sentence - not an aggregate sentence."

It's thought a ruling in this case would affect only one other Ohio inmate sentenced as a juvenile.

Tony Ganzer has reported from Phoenix to Cairo, and was the host of 90.3's "All Things Considered." He was previously a correspondent with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, covering issues like Swiss banks, Parliament, and refugees. He earned an M.A. in International Relations (University of Leicester); and a B.Sc. in Journalism (University of Idaho.) He speaks German, and a bit of French.