(Radio Iowa) – An attorney for a Fairfield teen who pleaded guilty to killing his Spanish teacher in 2021, is asking the Iowa Supreme Court to reconsider his current sentence. Willard Miller was sentenced last year to life with eligibility for parole after 35 years. His attorney Ella Newell claimed that sentencing a juvenile to a mandatory minimum amount of time in prison is cruel and unusual punishment if the judge does not consider testimony from an expert on child psychology.

“There is an inherent presumption both that juveniles are categorically immature but also that juveniles have a -even those that commit heinous crimes – are capable of rehabilitation, ” she says. Timothy Hau with the attorney general’s office represented the state. ““Experts aren’t perfect but they can be helpful and parties can choose to bring them. But certainly they’re not constitutionally required,” Hau says.

Miller was 16 at the time of the murder and 17 at the time of his sentencing. The Iowa Supreme Court will issue a ruling at a later date.