Harmelin v. Michigan

Petitioner was convicted of possessing 672 grams of cocaine and sentenced to a mandatory term of life in prison without possibility of parole.1 The Michigan Court of Appeals initially reversed his conviction because evidence supporting it had been obtained in violation of the Michigan Constitution. 176 Mich. App. 524, 440 N. W. 2d 75 (1989). On petition for rehearing, the Court of Appeals vacated its prior decision and affirmed petitioner’s sentence, rejecting his argument that the sentence was “cruel and unusual” within the meaning of the Eighth Amendment. Id., at 535, 440 N. W. 2d, at 80.…