MATTHEW TIMOTHY MCCULLOUGH v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals, Eyler, Aug. 30, 2017,
Eighth Amendment- Juvenile Punishment- The Eighth Amendment considers individual sentences, not aggregate sentences, and so a 100-year total sentence imposed on a juvenile for a non-homicide crime is not cruel and unusual when that 100 years was made up of four consecutive 25-year sentences.

Overturned by CoA

Facts:
In 2004, McCullough was a student at Randallstown High School in Baltimore County when another student called him a “bitch.” A fight later erupted and McCullough along with a friend ended up firing 12 shots into a crowd. Four students were seriously wounded with one paralyzed from the chest down.
Later that year, McCullough was convicted by a Baltimore County jury of four counts of first-degree assault.
McCullough was sentenced to 25 years for each conviction, to be served consecutively, for a total sentence of 100 years. The judge referred to McCullough at sentencing as a “suburban terrorist” and a “coward” and observed that until sentencing he had shown no remorse and had bragged about “beat[ing] the attempted murder wrap [sic]” and the use of a handgun charge.
In 2016, McCullough filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence.
McCullough argued that 100 years in prison was cruel and unusual for a non-homicide conviction because the Supreme Court held that life without parole was cruel and unusual punishment when imposed on juveniles for non-homicide offenses.
The circuit court for Baltimore County denied the motion and McCullough appealed, arguing that his sentence was illegal.

Held: The Court of Special Appeals disagreed, holding that the sentencing in this case was appropriate.

From the Case: In contrast to a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole (LWOP), the judge here was able to weigh out the appropriate sentence after considering the defendant and the crime. Moreover, anything short of LWOP allows the possibility of release at some point in the defendant’s life.

Eighth Amendment- Cruel and Unusual Punishment- The Eighth Amendment considers individual sentences, not aggregates.

Eighth Amendment- Cruel and Unusual Punishment- If the individual sentences are not cruel and unusual, then the combined total is not cruel and unusual

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