Daniel v. State

Donavan Daniel was convicted and sentenced by a jury to life without parole for felony murder in 2000. He was only 17 years old at the time of the offense. After the Tennessee Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Booker, 656 S.W.3d 49 (Tenn. 2022), Mr. Daniel filed a post-conviction petition to challenge his sentence for failing to account for his age and the unique characteristics of youth. The Circuit Court ruled that pursuant to Booker, Mr. Daniel’s life without parole sentence was unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. The Court converted his sentence to 60 years with eligibility for parole in as early as 25 years. The State appealed, arguing that Booker does not apply to Mr. Daniel’s original discretionary sentence.

Juvenile Law Center and the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth filed an amicus brief in support of Mr. Daniel in the Court of Criminal Appeals arguing that Mr. Daniel did not receive an individualized sentencing hearing to assess Mr. Daniel’s youth and its attendant characteristics, as required by Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012) and Booker. At the time of his sentencing, neither Mr. Daniel’s age nor the unique qualities of youth were considered. We also argued that Mr. Daniel’s youth was likely used against him due to the racist “superpredator” myth that led to the disproportionate punishment of Black youth like Mr. Daniel in the 1990s and early 2000s. Accordingly, we urged the Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm the Circuit Court’s order. 

LEGAL TEAM

Attorneys

Andrew Keats, Marsha Levick, Hannah Stommel