State v. Wheeler

The issue in this criminal case is whether the life sentences that the trial court imposed on defendant violate the proportionality clause of Article I, section 16, of the Oregon Constitution, which provides that “all penalties shall be proportioned to the offense.” A jury convicted defendant of 18 criminal charges, including sexual abuse, sodomy, and using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, based on conduct involving three boys between the ages of nine and 15. Defendant previously had been convicted of two felony sex crimes. Based on the convictions in this case and…