Be careful what you wish for — sometimes, you’ll get it. That’s what one rapist found out the hard way when he demanded a resentencing hearing. The Florida man thought a Supreme Court ruling would give him the chance to get a few years knocked off of his 65-year sentence; instead, the judge extended the sentence to life in prison.
Kendrick Morris was 16 years old when he was convicted for raping a teen girl. He brutally beat the young woman and left her for dead outside a library in Valrico. The girl survived the attack, but was left blind and paralyzed for life.
Morris was sentenced as a juvenile, and hoped that a Supreme Court ruling would shorten his sentence. A SCOTUS decision recently determined that lengthy sentences for juvenile offenders is unconstitutional. Morris hoped that because he was only 16 at the time he committed his crime, he would qualify for some mercy.
Now 24, Morris managed to get his resentencing hearing, probably assuming the worst that could happen is that the judge would not shorten his sentence. It might have sounded like he had nothing to lose. He was wrong.
In 2008, Morris, who was 16 years old at the time, beat the victim outside of the Bloomingdale Regional Public Library in Valrico, Florida, according to Newsiosity. After beating the teen, he then brutally raped her and left her to die outside of the library.
During the initial trial, the judge ignored the fact that Morris was a minor and sentenced him to 65 years in prison for his brutal offenses.
Morris was granted a re-sentencing hearing for 2017, following a decision by the Supreme Court that extensive sentences for minors are unconstitutional and that offenders should be given the opportunity for parole.
As the New York Post notes, a re-sentencing hearing doesn’t necessarily mean that a sentence will be lessened — as Morris learned the hard way.
Morris was hit with a new sentence of life in prison after a judge heard his case.
Sources: Cookingpanda, Newyork Post
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