In Re Nunez

Antonio de Jesus Nuñez filed a petition for habeas corpus in the California Supreme Court on grounds, inter alia, that his sentence of life in prison without parole (LWOP) for kidnapping for ransom (Pen. Code, § 209, subd. (a)) —an offense he committed when he was 14 years old—■ constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment or, alternatively, cruel or unusual punishment in violation of article I, section 17 of the California Constitution. Concluding Nuñez established a prima facie case for relief, the Supreme Court ordered Nuñez’s prison custodian to show cause before this court justifying the constitutionality of Nuñez’s LWOP sentence. After we placed the matter on calendar, petitioner and the Attorney General submitted briefs and argued the matter.

Petitioner contends his LWOP sentence violates article I, section 17’s proportionality requirement based on, among other factors, his youth, the lack of injury to any victim, and the circumstance that LWOP is not a sentencing option for kidnappers his age who—unlike petitioner—murder their victims. We agree that under our state Constitution the LWOP sentence imposed on petitioner is void both in the…