An Irvington man, convicted of murder, claimed his sentence of life in prison was illegal because he was 15 years old, has been rejected by a state appellate panel.
Walif Smith, now 40, argued that when he was sentenced in 1994, the judge "did not adequately account for his 'less developed brain and lack of maturity' when imposing his life sentence”. His claime referred to the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found mandatory sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole for juvenile homicide offenders are unconstitutional.
However, the panel denied the motion, stating that the U.S. Supreme Court decision did not apply to Smith's case, since he will be eligible for parole after serving 30 years in state prison. The decision referred to life sentences without the possibility of parole, which did not apply to Smith.
Smith who was sentenced to life in prison (equivalent to 75 years), will be eligible for parole on Feb. 7, 2024.
The conviction was a result of the killing which occurred on Sept. 21, 1990. On that date, Smith, who was 15, shot Marion Schuetz, 79, in the head while she was inside her Chevrolet Nova on Tiffany Place during the Irvington robbery. Schuetz, ultimately crashed her car into a tree on Elmwood Terrace.