It's unfortunate to find one of your family members murdered by someone. What's even more depressing is discovering that your 8-year-old daughter's murderer still has not gotten the sentencing he deserves and could be set free.
This is exactly what the family of Maddie Clifton feels now that her murderer, Joshua Phillips, could be set free by the US Supreme Court. Clifton was murdered in 1998 when she was just 8 years old. Her murderer, Phillips, was 14 years old at the time. When he was convicted of the crime, Phillips received a sentencing of life without parole. In 2012, however, the Supreme Court ruled that the sentencing given to Phillips was not right. They had earlier banned mandatory life sentences for teenagers.
According to the Supreme Court, Phillips was sentenced when he was just a juvenile. And based on the justice system, a minor cannot receive a sentencing of life without parole. Because of this oversight received by Phillips, the Supreme Court believes that his case deserves to be reviewed by a judge. Thus, Phillips' attorney was given until January 8th to file re-sentencing motions.
On Tuesday, Phillips was expected to face the judge in Duval County Court. Unfortunately, Phillips waived this appearance because his lawyer still had a lot of work to do before he could be re-sentenced. Even though the first re-sentencing hearing was waived, Phillips' attorney, Tom Fallis, said that he was working on making a new sentencing hearing available for his client. If given this opportunity, Phillips' sentencing could be reduced. He might even be set free sooner since he has already served 17 years in jail. The judge working on Phillips' case passed the re-sentencing hearing for February 9th. With this date coming nearer, Fallis is working hard at helping Phillips be ready for the re-sentencing hearing.
As for the victim's family, they are getting anxious with the decision of the court. But they are praying that everything will be taken care of since it was all "in God's hands."
Clifton vanished on Nov. 3, 1998. Before she disappeared, she had been playing outside a neighbor's home. Several days later, she was discovered dead under Phillips' bed.
