Rajion Alterek Mayo v. Ralph Terry, Acting Warden

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the denial of Rajion Alterek Mayo’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The court held that his twenty-year sentence for first-degree robbery was not unconstitutionally disproportionate to the offense or to the less severe sentence imposed on his juvenile codefendant. The court also rejected his double-jeopardy argument.

Holdings

1. The twenty-year sentence for first-degree robbery was not unconstitutionally disproportionate because it did not shock the conscience and, considering the nature of the offense and Mayo's prior and subsequent criminal conduct, did not violate West Virginia's constitutional proportionality principle.
2. The disparity between Mayo's sentence and his codefendant's lesser sentence was not unconstitutional because the two defendants were not similarly situated.
3. Double-jeopardy principles were not implicated because Mayo received a separate sentence for each separate conviction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Mayo's twenty-year sentence for first-degree robbery was unconstitutionally disproportionate to the offense under Article III, Section 5 of the West Virginia Constitution.
2. Whether the sentence was unconstitutionally disproportionate to the lesser sentence imposed on Mayo's juvenile codefendant.
3. Whether imposing separate sentences for second-degree murder and first-degree robbery violated double-jeopardy principles.

Disposition

affirmed