LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – A woman who was sentenced as a juvenile to life in
prison without parole for capital murder has been released from prison after her
sentence was shortened following U.S. and state Supreme Court rulings finding
such sentences to be unconstitutional.
Laquanda “Faye” Jacobs was released on Tuesday after serving 26 years. On
Monday, the Pulaski County District Attorney’s office renegotiated her sentence
to 40 years.
In 1993, when she was 16, Jacobs was found guilty of the murder of a classmate
and was sentenced to life without parole. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
that those sentences for juveniles constituted cruel and unusual punishment.
The Midwest Innocence Project, which is representing Jacobs, said in a
statement that Jacobs is innocent, and plans to petition the governor for
clemency.
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