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Harmelin v. Michigan
Supreme Court of the United States (1991)
Plaintiff/Respondent: Michigan
Defendant/Petitioner: Harmelin; the defendant was convicted for possessing 672 grams of cocaine and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The defendant argued that under the 8th Amendment, his punishment was cruel and unusual because it was disproportional to his crime.
Issue: Was the sentence of the defendant unconstitutional?
Holding: No
Legal Reasoning: The court held that the 8th Amendment did not promise proportionality and the court further ruled that it's previous decision in Solem v. Helm, where it held that the defendant's punishment was disproportional so unconstitutional, was "simply wrong". The court further held that the states have the discretion in punishing their offenders and the Supreme Court does not have the power to tell the state legislators how to write sentencing statues.