Justices turn down appeal in murder of Maddie Clifton
Justices declined to hear arguments in the appeal filed by Joshua Phillips, who was 14 at the time he murdered 8-year-old Maddie Clifton in 1998. As is common, the Supreme Court did not explain its reasons for declining to take up the case. Phillips, now 36, went to the Supreme Court in January after the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled against him in an appeal that focused on his sentence. Phillips was initially sentenced to life in prison after his conviction on a first-degree murder charge in 1999. But in a case known as Miller v. Alabama, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 barred mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles convicted of murder.
Maddie Cliftonโs killer appealing to Florida Supreme Court
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ A man convicted in the high-profile 1998 murder of a Jacksonville girl is appealing to the Florida Supreme Court. Joshua Phillips, who was 14 at the time he murdered 8-year-old Maddie Clifton, filed a notice Wednesday that is an initial step in appealing to the Supreme Court, according to an online docket at the 1st District Court of Appeal. A three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled against Phillips last month. But in a case known as Miller v. Alabama, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 barred mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles convicted of murder. โTo begin with, Phillips did not receive an inescapable, irrevocable life sentence.
Life sentence upheld for Maddie Cliftonโs killer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ In one of the highest-profile cases in Jacksonville in recent decades, a state appeals court Tuesday upheld the life sentence of a neighbor convicted in the 1998 murder of 8-year-old Maddie Clifton. Joshua Phillips, who was 14 at the time he committed the murder, contended that the life sentence was unconstitutional. Phillips, now 35, was initially sentenced to life in prison after his conviction on a first-degree murder charge in 1999. But in a case known as Miller v. Alabama, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 barred mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles convicted of murder. โTo begin with, Phillips did not receive an inescapable, irrevocable life sentence.