Sat Oct 12 16:10:00 UTC 2024: ## Iowa Supreme Court Upholds 35-Year Sentence for Teen Who Killed Teacher
**DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)** – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the 35-year prison sentence for Willard Miller, the 16-year-old who pleaded guilty to killing his Spanish teacher, Nohema Graber, in 2021. Miller, along with another teen, Jeremy Goodale, was found guilty of beating Graber to death with a baseball bat in a park.
Miller’s lawyers had appealed the sentence, arguing that it was unconstitutional to impose a mandatory minimum term before parole eligibility for juvenile offenders. However, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the district court’s decision was in line with precedent and that the unique factors of Miller’s case were considered.
The incident shocked the small town of Fairfield, where Graber was a beloved teacher at the local high school. Prosecutors said Miller and Goodale targeted Graber due to a bad grade Miller had received from her. Both teenagers were charged as adults, but due to their age, they were not subject to a mandatory life sentence without parole.
Miller, who expressed remorse and accepted responsibility for his actions at his sentencing hearing, will now be eligible for parole after serving 35 years in prison. His co-defendant, Goodale, is serving a life sentence with parole eligibility after 25 years.
First Piper 