Sentencing Guidelines

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Styles Taylor, et al.

Case No.: 17-2986; 17-3145

Officials: SYKES, BARRETT, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sentencing Guidelines

This is a case of one tragedy begetting another. Styles Taylor and Keon Thomas grew up as no child should: abandoned by their fathers, abused by their mothers, and beset by poverty. With little, they, unfortunately, turned to crime. As young adults they robbed a local gun shop, and in the process Taylor shot and killed the shop’s owner—a 73‐year‐old, near‐deaf World War II veteran and grandfather. Taylor and Thomas were charged with multiple offenses, including felony murder. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c), (j).

Their case is now before us for a fifth time. In this appeal, Taylor and Thomas challenge their respective life sentences as substantively unreasonable in light of mitigating factors, most notably, their troubled upbringings. The facts of this case are indeed difficult, but the law is clear. Where, as here, a district judge thoroughly examines and rejects the defendant’s mitigation arguments in issuing a within‐guidelines sentence, we presume that the sentence is reasonable. Taylor and Thomas have not rebutted that presumption, so we affirm.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.