Aiken v. Byars

Chief JUSTICE TOAL:

I respectfully dissent. I would find the petitioners are not entitled to resentencing pursuant to Miller v. Alabama, -U.S.-, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012), because the Miller decision is retroactive only with respect to juveniles sentenced to mandatory life without parole (LWOP), and because South Carolina utilizes a non-mandatory sentencing scheme.11

Pursuant to Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 109 S.Ct. 1060, 103 L.Ed.2d 334 (1989), a court decision implicating a constitutional right applies retroactively when the holding creates a new substantive rule or is a…