The SD
Supreme Court handed down one decision this morning, holding inter alia:
1) 90 year sentence imposed upon
17 year old defendant affirmed
Summary
follows:
STATE v.
QUEVEDO, 2020 S.D. 42: The trial court’s
sentence, imposed after a guilty plea to 2nd degree murder is upheld
notwithstanding the young age of the Defendant at the time of the offense. The trial court’s action and the SD Supreme
Court’s ruling is summarily stated in ¶¶ 1 & 42 as follows:
[¶1]
Carlos Quevedo pled guilty to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of
Kasie Lord. He was 17 years old when he committed the crime. The circuit court
sentenced him to 90 years in prison, making him eligible for parole at age 62.
Quevedo appeals, claiming his sentence is unconstitutional because it violates
categorical limitations placed upon sentences for juveniles and because it is
disproportionately harsh. We affirm.
[¶42]
Quevedo’s 90-year discretionary sentence does not offend the Eighth Amendment’s
prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, either as a categorically
prohibited mandatory life sentence or as a sentence that is disproportionate to
the offense. We affirm.
The Court’s
decision is unanimous, with opinion authored by Justice Salter.
This decision may be accessed at
