Missouri has seen a rise in African-America juveniles tried as adults. Statistics from 2009 state 64% of the juveniles tried as adults were of African-American descent. This is almost double of the amount in 2001 which was 36%. (Cooper) This brings to light an increase in racial disparity and the nature of prosecution in Missouri. Many of the cases of the African-American juvenile offenders certified as adults are prosecuted in St. Louis. "From 2001 to 2009, St. Louis certified 39% of the black juveniles prosecuted as adults statewide. St. Louis County accounted for 29%." (Cooper)One such case is Ledale Nathan Jr. At the age of 16, Nathan and an accomplice broke into a house in St. Louis' LaSalle Park neighborhood back in October of 2009. Nathan killed a 34-year-old woman by the name of Gina Stallis and wounded a firefighter and off-duty city police officer. His conviction resulted in life without parole. However, a 2012 ruling made it so Nathan could receive a review of his conviction. "When he was convicted of first-degree murder in 2011, life without parole was his only option. But in June 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Miller v. Alabama that an automatic life sentence for a juvenile was unconstitutional." (Mann)

Nathan...

Alabama along with another juvenile offender certified as an adult, Javon Adair. While Adair received a reduced sentence, Nathan's case involved careful consideration of whether his sentence was fair and suitable for the nature of his crime. The jury considered Nathan's state of mind when he committed the crime and his background. Three hours into deliberation, they could not reach a unanimous decision. This meant the initial first-degree murder conviction had to be vacated and replaced with a second-degree murder conviction.
Although his initial conviction was replaced with a lesser one, he still faced 75 years in prison for charges unaffected by the Miller v. Alabama ruling. Meaning the new conviction proved fruitless in reducing his overall time spent in prison. The closing arguments from the side of the prosecution stated Nathan acted like a man and should be punished like one. "In closing arguments, Assistant Circuit Attorney Beth Orwick told jurors Nathan was the aggressor. She said he repeatedly threatened to kill the family and pressed a gun against a 78-year-old's forehead." (Mann)

However, Robert Steele, representing Nathan, discussed his…