DocketNumber: 16-0851
Judges: Waterman, Appel
Filed Date: 4/20/2018
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 10/19/2024
In this appeal, we must decide challenges to Iowa's youthful offender laws raised by a defendant who at age thirteen fatally shot his mother. The State prosecuted him as a youthful offender in district court, and a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder. When he reached age eighteen, the district court sentenced him to an indeterminate prison term of up to fifty years (with no mandatory minimum). The defendant raises statutory and constitutional challenges to his prosecution and sentence, arguing that as a thirteen-year-old offender, his case should have remained in juvenile court and that at age eighteen he should have been released on probation or placed in a transitional facility rather than prison.
We retained his appeal and, for the reasons explained below, affirm his conviction as a youthful offender and his fifty-year indeterminate sentence with immediate parole eligibility. We conclude the district court properly exercised its discretion based on an individualized assessment of this defendant under a constitutional statutory scheme. We acknowledge sentencing reform efforts nationwide to raise the minimum age for prosecution in adult court. But under our constitutional separation of powers, those efforts should be directed to the legislature.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings.
On the evening of March 24, 2012, Noah Crooks was at home with his mother, Gretchen Crooks. Noah was thirteen years old and an eighth grader at Osage Middle School. He had no prior criminal record. The Crooks lived in rural Osage, in Mitchell County. Gretchen worked as a nurse at Mercy Hospital in Mason City and was studying to get her master's degree at the University of Iowa. Noah's father, William Crooks, worked at Cargill Kitchen Solutions in Mason City. William and Gretchen had been married for seventeen years.
William was at a work-related party away from home that evening when Noah loaded a .22 caliber rifle upstairs. Noah took the loaded rifle downstairs and saw his mother in the kitchen facing away from him. She was making dinner for him. Noah later told a child psychiatrist that he could *157not shoot her at that moment because it would not be honorable to shoot his mother in the back. Noah returned upstairs until his mother called up to say his dinner was ready. He returned downstairs with the rifle and this time found his mother sitting on the living room sofa studying her coursework. Noah shot her twenty-two times, killing her.
Noah sent his dad a text message at 7:30 p.m. The message stated, "Dad, this is Noah. I killed Mom accidentally. I regret it. Come home now please." William thought Noah was joking and replied, "Okay. Just throw her in the grove. We will take care of her later."
Noah called 911 and told the Mitchell County dispatcher, Barbara Michael, "I killed my mom with my twenty-two." He admitted he "shot her ... with twenty rounds maybe." Noah also said, "I, I tried to rape her.... I didn't do it. I tried to rape her, I couldn't do it." Noah talked to the dispatcher about his concerns over his own future, stating,
I'm never gonna be able to marry.... I'm never gonna get, be able to get a good job now, 'cause it'll be on my resume.... I mean, I'll barely be able to get a job like McDonald's. I mean I had plans of going to Michigan State University to get an engineering job, making my own car company. That's all down the drain now.
Deputy Jeff Huftalin was dispatched to the Crooks's residence and knocked on the front door. Noah answered the door while he was still on the phone with the dispatcher. Deputy Huftalin asked Noah where his mother was. Noah told him she was in the living room and that the gun was on a chair. Deputy Huftalin asked Noah to sit on the porch while he entered the house. Deputy Huftalin found Gretchen slouched on the couch; he could see bullet holes in her chest. Gretchen's pajama top was unbuttoned, and she was naked from the waist down. Deputy Huftalin confirmed that Gretchen was dead. He handcuffed Noah and put him in the backseat of the patrol car.
Deputy Huftalin called William to tell him there had been an accident in his house and that he needed to come home. Upon arrival, William was told that Gretchen was dead and that Noah had shot her.
The State filed a delinquency petition four days later, alleging that Crooks, age thirteen, committed the delinquent acts of first-degree murder and assault with the intent to commit sexual abuse. The State requested that the juvenile court waive jurisdiction so that Crooks could be tried as a youthful offender in adult court, as provided in Iowa Code section 232.45(7) (2011). Crooks filed a motion to dismiss, challenging the juvenile court's statutory authority to waive jurisdiction over a thirteen-year-old. The juvenile court denied the motion. Crooks then filed a second motion to dismiss, this time asserting the youthful offender statute was unconstitutional. The juvenile court denied this motion, finding Crooks failed to establish that the statute was unconstitutional.
At the waiver-of-jurisdiction hearing, the juvenile court made the three findings required by Iowa Code section 232.45(7)(a ) for transfer to district court: (1) Crooks was fifteen years of age or younger, (2) there was probable cause that Crooks committed the forcible felonies alleged in the petition, and (3) the State had established that there were no reasonable prospects for rehabilitating Crooks prior to his eighteenth birthday if the juvenile court retained jurisdiction. The juvenile court waived jurisdiction over Crooks and transferred the case to the district court for Noah's prosecution as a youthful offender.
*158The State filed a trial information in district court, alleging murder in the first degree and assault with intent to commit sexual abuse. The jury trial began on April 30, 2013. Crooks raised the defenses of insanity and diminished responsibility. On May 13, the jury returned a verdict finding him guilty of murder in the second degree and not guilty of assault with the intent to commit sexual abuse. The court placed him on youthful offender status and transferred his supervision to the juvenile court for disposition under Iowa Code section 232.52.
After conducting a dispositional hearing, the juvenile court transferred guardianship of Crooks to the director of the Department of Human Services for placement at the State Training School in Eldora. Crooks was under the supervision of the juvenile court until his eighteenth birthday. The juvenile court conducted yearly review hearings, and Crooks remained at the State Training School. He attended school and participated in mental health treatment. He graduated from high school on May 29, 2015.
In April 2016, the juvenile court officer (JCO) filed a youthful offender report, and the juvenile court reported to the district court as required by Iowa Code section 232.56. The report noted that throughout his time at Eldora, Crooks tried to avoid addressing why he killed his mother. The JCO mentioned that when Crooks's father confronted him about his matricide, he responded that "[he] thought we would be better off without her." The JCO report elaborated,
During a recent family meeting on April 14, 2016 with his father and counselors, Noah was asked again about why he killed his mother. He responded by saying, "I didn't think of the consequences. I didn't think anything would happen. I thought I would maybe get grounded." This question has been asked of Noah throughout his therapy time at the State Training School. Any answer Noah could give would not be an acceptable answer to his father and family members.
The district court ordered a presentence investigation (PSI). The PSI report recommended incarceration:
The defendant was 13 years of age when he shot and killed his mother. He will turn 18 on 07/29/16. Prior to his arrest on the instant offense he had no criminal history. He was involved in counseling with his family and was placed on psychotropic medication for a couple of years. There are reports he made comments to his peers at school about killing his mother and it would appear he bullied other children from time to time. It is also noted he was cruel to animals and may have burned down his grandmother's home when he was 5-6 years of age. These types of behaviors are disturbing for a child of his age. He admitted he was "arrogant and stuck up" and didn't really think anything bad was going to happen to him when he killed his mother.
The defendant professes that he came from a good home and loved his family, yet he shot and killed his mother in their own home. He stated he was not angry at her and reported he was close to his mother. His behavior at the State Training School has been pretty unremarkable with a few minor violations. According to the defendant, he has had no major behavioral issues at the training school because he knows the rules and doesn't want to suffer the consequences that would come as a result of negative choices he might make. He graduated from high school and has dreams of attending college.
The real concern is for public safety and how the defendant will conduct himself *159if allowed to return to society. No one can predict the future behavior of an individual with any certainty. He has been in institutional settings since the age of 13 and has learned to follow rules and modify his behavior in a structured setting. The concern is will others be placed at risk and will he create more victims in the future? If the defendant could offer a plausible explanation for why he shot and killed his mother, that might offer some insight into his thoughts and actions that day, but he can give no explanation for why he did what he did. For the protection of society, it is recommended the defendant be supervised at a higher level of supervision than what community based supervision can provide.
In light of the above it is respectfully recommended that the defendant be sentenced to a period of forty-five (45) years to the custody of the Director of the Department of Corrections.1
The district court held a hearing on May 6 to determine Crooks's status after his eighteenth birthday. The attorneys presented arguments. The State requested a fifty-year indeterminate sentence with no mandatory minimum. Crooks's attorney told the court,
You only have two options under the statute itself. The first is to continue the youthful offender status itself or discharge him. That's it. There aren't-In the event that you continue the youthful offender status itself, then you have other options. You can place him on probation. You can confine him. You can do a number-You can suspend the sentence and you can provide all types of restrictions on probation, but that's it. And that's the position that we've taken.
His attorney further argued that any confinement or probation could not exceed five years, with credit provided for time served. He did not specifically request placement in a transitional facility.
Crooks read to the court a statement he wrote in which he described the groups he voluntarily joined at the State Training School and expressed his regret for taking his mother's life. He apologized to the people he hurt through his actions. Several family members gave victim-impact statements. His uncle (the victim's brother) requested the maximum sentence, and his maternal grandmother emphasized that he "doesn't have real empathy." William, the defendant's father, spoke last:
[F]or four years we never talked about Gretchen, not once. He never had any remorse about his mom. I'd push him.... [H]e just wanted her out of his life because he can play video games.... [F]our years isn't long enough to pay for a wonderful woman who did so much at the hospital, for all of us, who were all of our rocks that we had to rely on. I-he needs to pay for his mother's life.
And I know that's hard to say, but it's just what it is, kid. It's time you face the piper, I guess, and letting you out today would ruin so many more lives. It honestly would.
The court determined that probation was not justified:
[T]he common theme throughout the documents that have been submitted, and even comments made here today, is that there has been a surprising lack of an emotional response from Noah, something showing appropriate remorse, empathy, which is understanding the feelings *160of the other people who have been affected by your actions. And I recognize that you are a young person, and there's a reason we treat young people differently. It's because sometimes emotionally they aren't developed enough to maybe respond in the appropriate way; but it is-it is very apparent to me, in reviewing the evidence, that for one reason or another, Noah, you just don't want to deal with this, with what you've done; and at some point in time you're going to have to, but it doesn't appear to me that that's happened yet. You've got some ground yet to cover and I think that there's work left to be done so I don't believe that a straight discharge at this time is appropriate.
....
At this point I do not see sufficient evidence to convince me that Noah has been rehabilitated. The nature and circumstances of this offense, coupled with the lack of emotion, remorse, and empathy, indicates that there is a lot of ground to cover. There have been some recent expressions of remorse and attempts to show empathy, and I hope that those are sincere, but the fact that they are so recent causes me to wonder. And, Noah, going forward you'll have the opportunity to prove to everybody that you mean what you say. You've heard the saying "actions speak louder than words," and I suspect that's what your family is waiting for, and I know that's what the rest of us will be looking for as well.
I'm also concerned, when we talk about the appropriateness of street probation, that you have made the comment that you really don't think you have any need for future services. You made a comment, when asked whether you perhaps would want to return to the Training School to speak some day after you've been rehabilitated, you didn't really think so or you hoped not, I think were your words. You changed your answer after you were pressed on it a little bit, but those comments are concerning to me, that you still don't have a full appreciation for what you've done and the legitimacy of everyone's concerns.
I am hopeful, but I'm not yet convinced, that it is safe for you to be free despite your young age. The lack of an appropriate emotional response, the lack of empathy, the lack of something that even approaches an adequate explanation for why this happened could be an indication that you just don't care. We just don't know yet. That's the point, we don't know. And I don't believe it's appropriate to release you on probation until we can be confident that that isn't the situation, but rather that you do care and that we don't have to worry about something like this happening down the road. And, in short, we need more time so that we can be confident in that determination.
So I do believe that the imposition of a sentence with incarceration is appropriate, and to that end it is necessary that I enter conviction.
The court entered judgment for murder in the second degree. The court sentenced Crooks to an indeterminate term of incarceration not to exceed fifty years without any mandatory minimum sentence.
*161Crooks appealed. On appeal, he argues that Iowa Code section 232.45(7)(a ) (2011) does not provide statutory authority to try a thirteen-year-old as a youthful offender. He also contends sections 232.45(7) and 907.3A violate article I, section 17 of the Iowa Constitution prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment. Finally, he argues that the sentencing court abused its discretion by incarcerating him. We retained his appeal.
II. Standard of Review.
"[W]e review the juvenile court's interpretation of statutes for correction of errors at law." In re A.M. ,
III. Analysis.
Crooks raises several challenges to the youthful offender provisions of the Iowa Code. We begin by providing a brief overview of the statutory scheme. We then consider whether the statutes permitted the juvenile court to waive jurisdiction over Crooks at age thirteen for prosecution as a youthful offender in district court. Because we conclude the juvenile court was statutorily authorized to do so, we next address his claim that the youthful offender statutes constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of article I, section 17 of the Iowa Constitution. We conclude that the waiver provisions do not constitute punishment, and we decline to impose a categorical bar on prosecuting thirteen-year-olds as youthful offenders in district court. Finally, we reject his claims that the district court abused its discretion by imposing a sentence of incarceration with no mandatory minimum.
A. Overview of the Youthful Offender Statutes. The youthful offender statutes were enacted in 1997 as part of comprehensive legislation related to juvenile justice. See generally 1997 Iowa Acts ch. 126 (entitled Juvenile Justice and Youthful Offenders). Generally, "[t]he juvenile court has exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings concerning a child who is alleged to have committed a delinquent act unless otherwise provided by law...."
After the filing of a petition which alleges that a child has committed a delinquent act on the basis of an alleged commission of a public offense and before an adjudicatory hearing on the merits of the petition is held, the county attorney or the child may file a motion requesting the court to waive its jurisdiction over the child for the alleged commission of the public offense or for the purpose of prosecution of the child as an adult or a youthful offender.
At the conclusion of the waiver hearing and after considering the best interests of the child and the best interests of the community the court may, in order that the child may be prosecuted as a youthful offender, waive its jurisdiction over the child if all of the following apply:
(1) The child is fifteen years of age or younger .
(2) The court determines ... that there is probable cause to believe that the child has committed a delinquent act which would constitute a public offense under section 232.8, subsection 1, paragraph *162"c ", notwithstanding the application of that paragraph to children aged sixteen or older.
(3) The court determines that the state has established that there are not reasonable prospects for rehabilitating the child, prior to the child's eighteenth birthday, if the juvenile court retains jurisdiction over the child and the child enters into a plea agreement, is a party to a consent decree, or is adjudicated to have committed the delinquent act.
B. The Applicability of Iowa Code Section 232.45(7)(a ) to Thirteen-Year-Old Offenders. Crooks argues that Iowa Code section 232.45(7)(a ) does not allow the juvenile court to waive jurisdiction over a thirteen-year-old child to be tried as a youthful offender in district court. He contends that, when related statutes are read together as a whole, section 232.45(7)(a ) is ambiguous. We disagree and conclude the statutes unambiguously allow prosecution of a thirteen-year-old as a youthful offender. "[O]ur starting point in statutory interpretation is to determine if the language has a plain and clear meaning within the context of the circumstances presented by the dispute." McGill v. Fish ,
Crooks emphasizes the different language used for the "traditional" waiver for prosecution as an adult and waiver for prosecution as a youthful offender. Compare
We see no ambiguity in the phrase "fifteen years of age or younger " whether read in isolation or in context of the entire statutory scheme. We conclude the juvenile court could properly waive jurisdiction over Crooks, who was age thirteen when he killed his mother, to allow his prosecution in district court as a youthful offender.
C. The Constitutionality of Iowa Code Sections 232.45(7)(a ) and 907.3A. Crooks argues that Iowa Code sections 232.45(7)(a ) and 907.3A -when applied to an offender age thirteen at the time of the crime-violate article I, section 17 of the Iowa Constitution prohibiting "cruel and unusual punishment." Under *163our de novo review of constitutional challenges to legislative enactments,
we must remember that statutes are cloaked with a presumption of constitutionality. The challenger bears a heavy burden, because it must prove the unconstitutionality beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, "the challenger must refute every reasonable basis upon which the statute could be found to be constitutional." Furthermore, if the statute is capable of being construed in more than one manner, one of which is constitutional, we must adopt that construction.
Thompson ,
We first address Crooks's claim that the waiver of a child to district court for prosecution as a youthful offender under section 232.45(7) constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Then we address his challenge to his fifty-year indeterminate sentence imposed under section 907.3A.
1. Whether the waiver process of section 232.45(7) constitutes punishment. Crooks claims the waiver process constitutes punishment because the decision to waive jurisdiction transfers a child from the juvenile system, which focuses on rehabilitation, to the adult system, which emphasizes incapacitation, retribution, and deterrence. See In re M.M.C. ,
In order to waive jurisdiction for the child to be tried as a youthful offender, the juvenile court must make an individualized finding that "there are not reasonable prospects for rehabilitating the child, prior to the child's eighteenth birthday, if the juvenile court retains jurisdiction over the child."
[t]he court shall hold a hearing prior to a youthful offender's eighteenth birthday to determine whether the youthful offender shall continue on youthful offender status after the youthful offender's eighteenth birthday under the supervision *164of the court or be discharged.... The court shall make its decision after considering the services available to the youthful offender, the evidence presented, the juvenile court's report, the interests of the youthful offender, and interests of the community.
Waiver of a child for prosecution as a youthful offender is not a decision to abandon efforts to rehabilitate the child. To the contrary, the statutory scheme allows the state to focus on rehabilitating the child while at the same time giving the state the option to retain supervision of the child after the child's eighteenth birthday if the court finds the child cannot be rehabilitated within that time. The court is required to make specific findings at each step of the process and has discretion with regard to the disposition, including when the child reaches age eighteen. We hold that the waiver process does not constitute punishment for purposes of article I, section 17 of the Iowa Constitution.
Other courts have held waiver statutes allowing prosecution of juveniles in adult court are not "punishment" for constitutional purposes. See, e.g. , State v. Jensen ,
Crooks cites no case holding that a waiver statute transferring a juvenile to adult court constitutes punishment under an Eighth Amendment or comparable state constitutional analysis. He relies on language in three cases that tangentially support his claim. In R.H. v. State , the Alaska Court of Appeals explained,
Nor can juvenile waiver proceedings realistically be said to affect "only the forum where the issue of guilt will be adjudicated." A juvenile waiver proceeding is the only available avenue by which *165the state may seek to prosecute a child as an adult.
Crooks also cites Ramona R. v. Superior Court , in which the California Supreme Court held that under the California Constitution, "testimony a minor gives at a fitness hearing ... may not be used against him at a subsequent trial of the offense."
I would remand this case to the juvenile court for a hearing to determine whether the statements and confessions introduced and considered at phase II of [Hana]'s juvenile waiver hearing were obtained in violation of his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent or his Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
Moreover, in all three cases, the child would be tried as an adult and faced either life imprisonment or a prison sentence with a lengthy mandatory minimum. See R.H. ,
2. Crooks's categorical challenge to the sentence imposed under section 907.3A. Crooks claims that sentencing a thirteen-year-old as a youthful offender under section 907.3A violates article I, section 17 of the Iowa Constitution. He urges *166us to adopt a categorical bar on imposing punishment upon a child under the age of fourteen in adult court. We begin our analysis with a brief overview of federal and state jurisprudence on the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment as it relates to juvenile sentencing.
The United States Supreme Court has interpreted the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause as it relates to juvenile sentencing in a trilogy of cases, expanding the categorical challenges available to juvenile offenders challenging the death penalty or mandatory sentences of life without parole. See generally Miller v. Alabama ,
We have applied the Roper - Graham - Miller reasoning under the Iowa Constitution and "built upon it and extended its principles." State v. Sweet ,
*167Crooks asks us to "take the next logical step and define at what age a child may be subject to adult prosecution and punishment" by adopting a categorical bar on sentencing an eighteen-year-old in adult court for a crime committed at age thirteen. In considering whether to adopt a categorical approach to a class of offenders under the cruel and unusual punishment clause of article I, section 17, we apply the two-step approach used by the United States Supreme Court under the Eighth Amendment. Sweet ,
"Substantial deference is afforded the legislature in setting the penalty for crimes." State v. Cronkhite ,
Here, the legislative decision to back away from mandatory sentencing for most crimes committed by juveniles weakens the notion of a consensus in favor of the practice of blindly sentencing juveniles based on the crime committed. In fact, it helps illustrate a building consensus in this state to treat juveniles in our courts differently than adults.
Actually, the statutory recognition of the need for some discretion when sentencing juveniles is consistent with our overall approach in the past in dealing with juveniles. Primarily, the juvenile justice chapter of our Code gives courts considerable discretion to take action in the best interests of the child.
Crooks acknowledges that twenty-one states authorize children under the age of fourteen to be prosecuted and punished as adults.
Crooks relies on a recent study authored by Jeree Thomas, Policy Director at the Campaign for Youth Justice (CFYJ), entitled Raising the Bar: State Trends in Keeping Youth Out of Adult Courts (2015-2017), http://cfyj.org/images/A-StateTrends_Report-Web.pdf. The focus of that report is on legislative reform efforts. See id. at 38. The report cites no judicial decisions invalidating enactments allowing or requiring transfer of youthful offenders to adult court. Rather, the report urges state legislatures to raise the minimum age for prosecution as adults. See id. at 7-8 (noting "[f]our states have passed laws to raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction so that 16- and/or 17-year-olds are not automatically prosecuted as adults"). The report also advocates restoring judicial discretion on waiver and transfer decisions lacking in many states. See id. at 35. The Iowa youthful offender laws already provide for such judicial discretion. We agree with the CFYJ that policy-based arguments for juvenile sentencing reform should be directed to the legislature.
We next exercise our independent judgment. See Lyle ,
*170In Miller , the United States Supreme Court explained that "the discretion available to a judge at the transfer stage cannot substitute for discretion at post-trial sentencing in adult court-and so cannot satisfy the Eighth Amendment."
Even when States give transfer-stage discretion to judges, it has limited utility. First, the decisionmaker typically will have only partial information at this early, pretrial stage about either the child or the circumstances of his offense.... The key moment for the exercise of discretion is the transfer-and as Miller's case shows, the judge often does not know then what she will learn, about the offender or the offense, over the course of the proceedings.
Second and still more important, the question at transfer hearings may differ dramatically from the issue at a post-trial sentencing. Because many juvenile systems require that the offender be released at a particular age or after a certain number of years, transfer decisions often present a choice between extremes: light punishment as a child or standard sentencing as an adult (here, life without parole). In many States, for example, a child convicted in juvenile court must be released from custody by the age of 21. Discretionary sentencing in adult court would provide different options: There, a judge or jury could choose, rather than a life-without-parole sentence, a lifetime prison term with the possibility of parole or a lengthy term of years. [I]t is easy to imagine a judge deciding that a minor deserves a (much) harsher sentence than he would receive in juvenile court, while still not thinking life-without-parole appropriate.
We conclude the Iowa youthful offender statutes provide the discretionary, individualized posttrial sentencing that Miller requires. Indeed, the Iowa statutes go beyond what Miller requires: instead of the district court imposing a sentence immediately after the initial determination of guilt, the district court is required to transfer supervision of the youthful offender back to the juvenile court until he or she reaches age eighteen. Only upon the offender's eighteenth birthday does the district court select among the sentencing options in section 907.3A. This provides additional time (nearly five years from age thirteen for Crooks) to track the juvenile offender's progress towards rehabilitation before imposing any prison sentence. We reject Crooks's challenge to section 907.3A under article I, section 17 of the Iowa Constitution.
D. The District Court's Discretion to Impose the Prison Sentence. Crooks also claims the district court abused its discretion in imposing a sentence of an indeterminate term of incarceration not to exceed fifty years. As quoted above, the court explained in great detail the reasons for its sentence. Crooks argues the district court abused its discretion in three ways: (1) by overlooking other available options besides incarceration or street probation, (2) by failing to apply the Miller / Lyle factors, and (3) by imposing incarceration. We address each of these claims in turn.
1. Considering the available options. Crooks claims the district court failed to recognize the sentencing options available and therefore failed to properly exercise its discretion. Cf. Hill ,
Sentencing decisions of the district court are cloaked with a strong presumption in their favor. State v. Hopkins ,
Additionally, "a sentencing court need only explain its reasons for selecting the sentence imposed and need not explain its reasons for rejecting a particular sentencing option."
I am hopeful, but I'm not yet convinced, that it is safe for you to be free despite your young age. The lack of an appropriate emotional response, the lack of empathy, the lack of something that even approaches an adequate explanation for why this happened could be an indication that you just don't care. We just don't know yet. That's the point, we don't know. And I don't believe it's appropriate to release you on probation until we can be confident that that isn't the situation, but rather that you do care and that we don't have to worry about something like this happening down the road. And, in short, we need more time so that we can be confident in that determination.
So I do believe that the imposition of a sentence with incarceration is appropriate, and to that end it is necessary that I enter conviction.
The court did not fail to consider the available options and explained why it selected the sentence it imposed. The court therefore did not abuse its discretion.
2. Failing to consider the Miller/Lyle factors. Crooks also claims that the district court abused its discretion by failing to consider the Miller factors. He cites Null for the proposition that, in sentencing a juvenile as an adult when a mandatory minimum sentence is an option, the district court must also "undertake an analysis of '[e]verything ... said in Roper and Graham ' about youth." Null , 836 N.W.2d at 74 (alteration in original) (quoting Miller ,
(1) the age of the offender and the features of youthful behavior, such as "immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to appreciate risks and consequences"; (2) the particular "family and home environment" that surround the youth; (3) the circumstances of the particular crime and all circumstances relating to youth that may have played a role in the commission of the crime; (4) the challenges for youthful offenders in navigating through the criminal process; and (5) the *172possibility of rehabilitation and the capacity for change.
Lyle ,
Crooks argues on appeal that, because a minimum period of incarceration before parole eligibility was an available option, the district court was required to consider the Miller / Lyle factors "on the record." The State responds that the court is only required to consider the Miller / Lyle factors if it contemplates imposing a mandatory minimum sentence. In State v. Propps , we expressly "decline[d] to extend the requirement of a Miller individualized sentencing hearing to juvenile defendants who are not subject to a mandatory minimum period of incarceration."
Because an indeterminate sentence allows for immediate eligibility for parole, a juvenile is able to demonstrate to the parole board whether he or she appreciated the harm done and utilized the options available for reform. If rehabilitation has not yet occurred, the parole board may make the decision to continue incarceration until the juvenile has demonstrated through his or her own actions the ability to appreciate the severity of the crime. This is consistent with the approach of our prior holdings in the area of juvenile sentencing, because it allows for a realistic and meaningful opportunity for parole upon the juvenile's demonstration of maturity and rehabilitation.
When sentencing Crooks, the district court expressly declined to consider imposing a mandatory minimum.
[I]f incarceration is ordered there's no mandatory minimum. The State is not seeking that.... And so when I sentence someone to incarceration I don't say, "I sentence you to 50 years," I say, "I sentence you to an indeterminate term not to exceed 50 years," and at that point in time the Board of Parole takes over and makes a determination as to when a person should be released *173from prison. And so it's important to keep in mind that even though people throw around 50 years, it doesn't mean 50 years, at least not necessarily.
Under Propps , no hearing on the Miller / Lyle factors was required to sentence Crooks to prison with immediate eligibility for parole. 897 N.W.2d at 102, 104.
Nevertheless, we reiterate that "[a] sentencing court is to consider any mitigating circumstances relating to a defendant." State v. Witham ,
The record reveals the sentencing court addressed a variety of factors in response to the evidence and argument presented by Crooks, including those Miller / Lyle factors identified by Crooks. We find no abuse of discretion. As a result, we turn to address the final argument by Crooks that the sentencing court abused its discretion by imposing incarceration.
3. Imposing sentence of incarceration. Crooks additionally claims the district court abused its discretion by imposing incarceration. He asserts that the court imposed incarceration based on "the belief that Crooks is not rehabilitated and poses a potential danger to society" and that the evidence presented at the sentencing hearing does not support this conclusion. We disagree.
The court was required to "make its decision after considering the services available to the youthful offender, the evidence presented, the juvenile court's report, the interests of the youthful offender, and interests of the community."
We conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing a sentence of incarceration. Dr. Michael Taylor, who evaluated Crooks in 2012, emphasized in his August 12, 2012 report,
With a strong degree of medical certainty, I can state that the prospects for rehabilitating Noah Crooks prior to his eighteenth birthday are nil. He has no psychiatric illness (which had any impact on his actions) which might be treated-absent a brain transplant. He appears to not be capable of experiencing guilt and/or remorse. He is not capable of considering the impact that his actions might have on others-except himself. His actions vis-à-vis the murder of his mother were part and parcel of deeply-ingrained *174personality traits which have been present for years, despite his relative youth, and will continue to be present for the foreseeable future. There is no treatment known to man that can change these personality traits as Noah grows older. It is highly probable, however, that Noah will become more skilled at "saying the right things" to cover up his severe psychopathology until he is no longer in a secure facility.
Dr. Augspurger, a psychiatrist who evaluated Crooks both in 2013 and in 2016, concluded after the 2016 evaluation that Crooks does not have a diagnosable mental disorder. Dr. Augspurger stated that "it cannot still be said that [Crooks] is developing an Antisocial Personality Disorder since he has not outwardly displayed evidence for the behavior required to substantiate such a diagnostic development since admission [at the State Training School]." But Dr. Augspurger concluded,
This could all be illusion, but it could just as well be reality and I would certainly rather have him being productive and behaving in a prosocial manner compared with the opposite. If one believes in the purpose of having a separate juvenile judicial system, that it is possible and desirable to educate and train young people in the hopes of changing them, then one must be hopeful that he is a successful product of that system. However, I have no ability to predict the future and cannot offer assurances one way or the other.
Dr. Augspurger's equivocal opinions did not compel the district court to discharge Crooks or release him on probation. The district court acted within its discretion by imposing an indeterminate sentence of incarceration not to exceed fifty years, with immediate eligibility for parole and no mandatory minimum term.
IV. Disposition.
For these reasons, we affirm Crooks's judgment of conviction and sentence.
AFFIRMED.
All justices concur except Appel, Wiggins, and Hecht, JJ., who concur in part and dissent in part.
A forty-five-year recommended sentence allowed Crooks five years of sentencing credit for his time institutionalized at Eldora.
The court also ordered Noah to pay $150,000 in victim restitution. See State v. Richardson ,
Subparagraph (1) was amended in 2013 to require that
[t]he child is twelve through fifteen years of age or the child is ten or eleven years of age and has been charged with a public offense that would be classified as a class "A" felony if committed by an adult.
2013 Iowa Acts ch. 42, § 5 (codified at
The legislature amended section 907.3A in 2013. See 2013 Iowa Acts ch. 42, § 15 (adding language directing court to consider a presentence investigation report, if ordered, and renumbering the sentencing options for clarity). At the May 6, 2016 sentencing hearing, the court indicated the 2011 Code applied, and the parties agreed. With regard to the sentencing options, the State noted, "The 2013 Code is clearly written better than the 2011 Code section, and it's the State's opinion that that was the purpose of amending the statute. We don't believe that the 2013 [amendment] added anything different[;] it just is easier to read." The court agreed that the amendments "merely clarified the 2011 statute" and concluded that both statutes provided "the same options to the court." We rely on the 2011 Code applied by the district court and the parties but would reach the same conclusions under the 2013 amendment.
Section 907.3A(3) limits the term of probation.
[I]f the district court either continues the youthful offender deferred sentence or enters a sentence, suspends the sentence, and places the youthful offender on probation, the term of formal supervision shall commence upon entry of the order by the district court and may continue for a period not to exceed five years.
In response to Miller and related Iowa caselaw, the Iowa General Assembly in 2015 amended the statutory provisions relating to the sentencing of juveniles who commit class "A" felonies. See Sweet ,
The United States Supreme Court has observed that "the 'clearest and most reliable objective evidence of contemporary values is the legislation enacted by the country's legislatures.' " Atkins v. Virginia ,
This Court's precedents have emphasized the importance of state legislative judgments in giving content to the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.... The "clearest and most reliable objective evidence of contemporary values" comes from state legislative judgments. Such legislative judgments are critical because in "a democratic society legislatures, not courts, are constituted to respond to the will and consequently the moral values of the people." And we have focused on state enactments in this realm because of the "deference we owe to the decisions of the state legislatures under our federal system ... where the specification of punishments is concerned." For these reasons, we have described state legislative judgments as providing "essential instruction" in conducting the Eighth Amendment inquiry.
Moore v. Texas , 581 U.S. ----, ----,
See