Stop Bobby Bostic from serving an unconstitutional life sentence

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I was 16 years old in 1995 when me and an older man committed the robbery of two people who were in a crowd of five people and committed another robbery of a single individual thirty minutes later a few blocks away. No one was seriously injured in these crimes.

I am Bobby Bostic and I was sentenced to die in prison for the above crimes. The judge pronounced this at my sentencing hearing when she said: "Bobby Bostic, you will die in the department of corrections. You do not go to see the parole board until 2201, nobody in this courtroom will be alive in the year 2201."

In 2010, in the case of Graham V. Florida, the United States Supreme court held that the Eighth Amendment, which bans cruel and unusual punishments, forbids states from sentencing juveniles to life-without-parole sentences for crimes excluding murder. My sentence of 241 years is a life-without-parole sentence, yet the state of Missouri has not re-sentenced me.

In 2012, the United States Supreme court held in the case Miller v. Alabama, that the Eighth Amendment forbids states from giving juveniles mandatory life-without-parole for homicide convictions. Still, I remain serving an unconstitutional life-without-parole sentence although no one was hurt in my crimes and I was only a child when this happened.

In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Montgomery v. Louisiana that the Miller decision is retroactive to all persons serving unconstitutional life-without-parole sentences. This could result in parole for me and people like me but since I am eligible for parole in 2201, my sentence is technically not a life-without-parole sentence. This was wrong and my sentence has to be corrected. I am totally remorseful for my crimes and have written the victims letters of apology. I deserve a second chance in this case.

In 2016, the Missouri passed Senate Bill 590 which said “Any person sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole before August 28 2016, who was under eighteen years of age at the time of the commission of the offense or offenses, may submit to the parole board a petition for a review of his or her sentence, regardless of whether the case is final for purposes of appeal, after serving twenty-five years of incarceration on the sentence of life without parole.” So only people who had a life-without-parole sentence were eligible for a parole hearing after serving 25 years. There is no provision for people like me who was sentenced to 241 years.

 My adult co-defendant was given 30 years and he goes home in 4 years because, by law, he is required to serve 85% of his 30 year sentence. I was given 211 more years for the same crime.

This is one the greatest injustices in sentencing in modern times. The judge said that she was making an example out of me because I did not take a plea bargain.

I have been in prison for 21 years now and I have rehabilitated myself. I completed several college courses from Missouri State University, Adams State University, and Blackstone Career Institute. I have completed over thirty rehabilitation classes and programs. In addition to this, I have written five non-fiction books and eight poetry books.

So please sign my petition so that me and people like me can have the possibility of re-sentencing or a parole hearing. Without your help we will continue to serve unconstitutional sentences for the rest of our lives.

Please sign and indicate your support for my petition.