Rubin has motion to correct illegal sentence remanded

Russell Ross Rubin, who was convicted for a 1993 murder of a Chataigner woman, was given a chance to get out of prison after the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal handed down a decision that remanded the case back to the district court for resentencing.
Russell Ross Rubin through his court appointed attorney Alex Chapman filed a writ application with the appellate court after Judge Chuck West of the 13th Judicial District Court denied Rubin’s request to correct an illegal sentence after a hearing that was held on February 23, 2017.
According to records obtained from the Court of Appeal, Judge West denied the request because he “basically held that any grant of parole should be up to the parole board.” Judge West at the hearing found “this court has no jurisdiction over the Department of Corrections. I cannot order them to do or not do something.”
According to Chapman, “This is a very quickly evolving area of the law, and everybody is trying to keep up with it including judges, district attorneys, defense attorneys, and the legislature.” He added, “The legislature addressed this issue in the last legislative session.”
The reason that this issue is quickly evolving is because of a recent decision from the United States Supreme Court. “It started with a U. S. Supreme Court case out of Alabama where a juvenile was sentenced to life without parole,” said Chapman. “The Court found the sentence was cruel and unusual punishment which violated the U. S. Constitution.”
“Once that decision came out,” Chapman added, “the decision was challenged in State of Louisiana vs. Montgomery, and the Louisiana State Supreme Court looked at the Alabama case and said juveniles being sentenced to life without parole violates the U. S. Constitution based on the grounds of cruel and unusal punishment.”
The Rubin case arises from an incident on November 18, 1993, where Russell Ross Rubin was arrested for the murder of a Chataignier woman in her grocery store. Rubin, who was 15-years-old at the time, was accused of hacking the victim with a machete and shooting her at least three times.
Rubin was then convicted by an Evangeline Parish jury on April 29, 1994, and was sentenced to serve life in prison at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. The conviction was reversed on appeal and was remanded for a new trial.
The defendant was again convicted on the same charge on January 25, 1996, and was sentenced to the same mandatory life sentence at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. The case went on appeal to the Third Circuit and was affirmed by both the appellate court and the state Supreme Court.
Chapman outlined what can happen now with Rubin’s case. “Life without parole for a juvenile can only be imposed after a full blown hearing involving many factors to determine if the juvenile is beyond rehabilitation at this point in his life,” he said. “If the state cannot carry its burden of proof in the hearing, then Rubin will be eligible for parole.”
“The district attorney could also agree to amend the sentence to just life which would make Rubin eligible to apply for parole,” concluded Chapman.