Iowa teen who killed teacher must serve 35 years before parole

DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa teenager who pleaded guilty to beating his high school Spanish teacher to death with a baseball bat must serve 35 years in prison before he is eligible for parole, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday reaffirmed.

Willard Miller was 16 when he and another teenager killed Nohema Graber, a 66-year-old teacher at Fairfield High School, in 2021. Miller was sentenced last year to life in prison with a mandatory minimum number of years served, but he appealed. sentencing before the Iowa Supreme Court, arguing that it is unconstitutional to sentence juvenile offenders to a minimum sentence before they are eligible for parole.

The state Supreme Court on Friday unanimously affirmed the district court’s decision, ruling that the court’s precedent explicitly allows mandatory minimums for juvenile offenders, as long as the unique factors of their case are considered. The judges said the district judge correctly applied the sentencing factors.

However, the Iowa Constitution prohibits sentencing juvenile offenders to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Miller and Jeremy Goodale, who was sentenced to life in prison with parole after 25 years, killed Graber on Nov. 2, 2021, in a park where the teacher routinely walked after school. Prosecutors said the teens were angry at Graber because of a bad grade she gave Miller.

The two were charged as adults, but because of their ages they were not subject to a mandatory life sentence without parole for first-degree murder.

During his sentencing hearing, Miller accepted responsibility and apologized. His lawyers argued that he should be eligible for immediate parole. Attorneys for the state recommended a minimum of 30 years.

Fairfield, a city of 9,400, is about 100 miles southeast of Des Moines.