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ORIGINAL *1044680771 IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA LARRY DONELLE BROWN, JR. ) NOT FOR PUBLICATION ) Appellant, ) ) V. ) Case No. F-2018-1222 ) FILED THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA, ) IN COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS ) STATE OF OKLAHOMA Appellee. ) JAN 3 0 2020 JOHN D. HADDEN SUMMARY OPINION CLERK LEWIS, PRESIDING JUDGE: Larry Donelle Brown, Jr., Appellant, entered a blind plea of guilty to first degree murder, in violation of 21 O.S.Supp. 1996, § 701.7(A), in the District Court of Tulsa County, Case No. CF-1997- 1409. The Honorable Jefferson D. Sellers, District Judge, sentenced Appellant to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. This Court granted post-conviction relief and remanded for resentencing in Brown U. State, No. PC-2017-933. The Honorable Sharon K. Holmes sentenced Appellant to life imprisonment and granted him credit for time served. Appellant appeals his resentencing in the following proposition of error: Appellant’s life sentence is in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution and Oklahoma Constitution Article II, §§ 7 and 9. In his proposition, Appellant argues that his sentence of life with the possibility of parole, for a murder he committed when he was seventeen years old, is a de facto sentence of life without parole that violates the Eighth Amendment as interpreted in Miller U. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012). Appellant argues that the discretionary nature of the Oklahoma parole process, the absence of a rule requiring consideration of youth-related factors in parole decisions involving juvenile offenders, and the low frequency of actual parole of violent offenders sentenced to life imprisonment collectively deny him the “meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation” required for juvenile offenders serving life sentences. See Graham U. Florida, 560 U.S. 48, 75 (2010). This Court has rejected the view that a life sentence with the possibility of parole for a juvenile homicide offender violates Miller. Stevens U. State, 2018 OK CR 11, 1 31, 422 P. 3d 741, 749. (finding that the trial court, with agreement from the State, could remedy a Miller violation by modifying life without parole sentence to life 2 imprisonment). The Supreme Court in Miller acknowledged that a state court may exercise its discretion to sentence a juvenile homicide offender to a “lifetime prison term with the possibility of parole or a lengthy term of years” consistent with the Eighth Amendment. Miller, 567 U.S. at 489. A State may properly redress a Miller sentencing error by allowing a juvenile homicide offender serving a life without parole sentence to be considered for parole. Montgomery U. Louisiana, 136 S.Ct. 718, 736 (2016). In this case, the trial court granted Appellant more than twenty-one years credit for time served against his current non-85% life sentence. Having completed more than 1/3 of that sentence, he appears to be eligible for consideration for parole. 57 O.S.Supp.2018, § 332.7(A). Appellant does not allege that he has been denied parole consideration, or denied fair notice and an opportunity to be heard in connection with that decision. He has not shown that parole officials systematically refuse to consider “demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation” in parole decisions. Low parole rates for violent offenders are not sufficient evidence of an unconstitutionally arbitrary or fundamentally unfair parole process. 3 Appellant has not shown convincingly that his sentence of life imprisonment is a de facto sentence of life without parole that violates the Eighth Amendment. This proposition requires no relief. DECISION The sentence is AFFIRMED. Pursuant to Rule 3.15, Rules of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, Title 22, Ch. 18, App. (2020), the MANDATE is ORDERED issued upon the delivery and filing of this decision. APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF TULSA COUNTY THE HONORABLE SHARON K. HOLMES, DISTRICT JUDGE APPEARANCES AT TRIAL APPEARANCES ON APPEAL DEBRA K. HAMPTON DEBRA K. HAMPTON 3126 S. BOULEVARD, #304 3126 S. BOULEVARD, #304 EDMOND, OK 73013 EDMOND, OK 73013 ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT SEAN WATERS MIKE HUNTER ASST. DISTRICT ATTORNEY ATTORNEY GENERAL 500 S. DENVER, STE. 900 KEELEY L. MILLER TULSA, OK 74103 ASST. ATTORNEY GENERAL ATTORNEY FOR THE STATE 313 N.E. 21ST STREET OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73105 ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE OPINION BY: LEWIS, P.J. KUEHN, V.P.J.: Concur LUMPKIN, J.: Concur HUDSON, J.: Concur ROWLAND, J.: Concur 4

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