A judge has sentenced 15-year-old Dakotah Eliason to mandatory life without parole and denied the defense’s motion that the sentence is cruel and unusual punishment and violates the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.
“Long-standing and unchallenged precedent establishes that when a juvenile is convicted of killing another human being, a life-without-parole sentence does not violate the Eighth Amendment,” judge Scott Schofield said in a written opinion Monday morning, which he also read aloud. “This court has been presented with nothing to convince it that a life-without-parole sentence is particularly cruel and unusual when imposed upon this defendant,” he continued.
Read Judge Schofield’s full written opinion here.
Dakotah was convicted of first-degree murder in August for fatally shooting his grandfather, Jesse Miles, in March.
Before he was formally sentenced, the court heard from family members who are divided on what should happen to Dakotah.
“My dad didn’t get a second chance, said Vickie Hartz, “so why should he?”
But Dakotah's father said his son - at 15 years old - should have a chance to be rehabilitated and it should be up to a parole board to decide someday.
“That’s why we have parole boards,” said Eliason, who later added the law that allows juveniles to be sentenced to life in prison without parole should be abolished.
“The bottom line is we need to stop treating these kids like adults. They're not fully formed,” he said, in front of a group of supporters.
“Anyone that's spent any time around that kid will tell you he's a loving kid, certainly at his point, people that don't know him are defining him by the one terrible thing he did but he does have remorse he does wish he could take it back,” said defense attorney Lanny Fisher.
Dakotah also stood up and addressed the court:
“I'm sorry everyone feels the way they do and I wish it wouldn't have turned out to be first degree murder. But I understand you are only doing your job, Mr. Cotter, and you did it to the best of your ability. But if I don't regret this everyday then I truly am less than human. If I don't regret what I did everyday then I do deserve to die in prison. Than I do deserve to die. And honestly if I could take it back I would. But there's no such thing that allows me to do so. And right now I'm standing on leaded legs that are made of rubber. I'm barely able to keep from pissing my pants right now. My heart's pounding in my chest. I can barely hear myself think. And the hardest part of this all is having to face my family. So Aunt Becky, Angie, to the Miles, and the Shepherds, I know you might not accept this apology, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the pain you've went through. I'm sorry for all the hurt I've caused you. I'm sorry for everything I've done to the family.
And no matter what, I will still love you. No matter how mad you may be at me, I will still love you. No matter how much anyone hates me - it doesn't make a difference to me. I will still love you all because you're my family. I was born with you and I'll die knowing you're my family. I will never forget the good memories I had spending time with you. And of spending time with him. Because yeah, he was a good man, he didn't deserve it. none of us deserves to have this happen. But everyday I regret this pain everyday I deal with the pain it only gets worse. It never gets better and I never finished that statement at the station. I never finished this statement ... The tension, it goes away, but it comes back tenfold. And you deal with it on a scale that can never be measured. Right now I feel like my heart's going to burst from my chest. I feel like I'm about to die right now. And you may feel that's what I deserve, but so be it. I still love you all."
But Prosecutor Arthur Cotter called the teenager a “very, very, very dangerous individual.”
“In 24 years, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Cotter in court. “I loathe sending a juvenile away to prison for the rest of his life,” but added based on the facts of the case there was no other verdict that could’ve been returned.
Cotter argued Eliason showed no emotion or remorse immediately after the shooting and is an “intelligent, articulate” person. He said based on the results of two psychological evaluations on Eliason, he concluded “he is dangerous and I don’t believe he should ever be released.”
The results of the evaluations have not been made public for confidentiality reasons and were not entered as evidence during the trial. Cotter said in court only the defense could release the findings.
Judge Schofield spoke directly to Eliason before handing down his sentence.
“Your poor choices have earned you this sentence of life without parole,” said Schofield. “You shot your grandfather in cold blood. You put a bullet through his head as he slept. Your culpability might have been mitigated somewhat if there had been something that would indicate that you had somehow been victimized or abused. But nothing like that has been brought to the court’s attention. No such showing has ever been made. It’s rare for everyone in a controversial case like this to agree on something. But everyone seems to agree that Jesse Miles was a good man and was good to you.”
Schofield added that no one is beyond redemption and that “your life doesn’t have to be over … you were created and put here for a purpose. It is not too late for you to give your life meaning or to achieve your life’s purpose whatever that might be.”
