Having summarized the relevant juvenile-sentencing law, we turn to the proceedings in Harris's case. As previously noted, following the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus, the Jefferson County Circuit Court vacated Harris's life-without-parole sentence and remanded the case to the Drew County Circuit Court for resentencing. The resentencing hearing was set for May 2017. On March 22, 2017, two days after the FSMA was passed, the State filed a "Motion to Discontinue Resentencing." The State argued that the FSMA "retroactively established" parole eligibility for Harris and other similarly situated minors sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for capital murder. The State further argued that, because Harris's parole eligibility would be calculated by the FSMA, the issue of resentencing was moot. Finally, the State contended that the prior order vacating Harris's original sentence should be withdrawn.
Harris filed a response to the State's motion and argued that he was entitled to a resentencing hearing under this court's precedent in Jackson and Gordon because he was similarly situated to the defendants in those cases. He contended that the retroactive parole-eligibility provision of the FSMA was inapplicable to him because his life sentence had been vacated and he currently had no sentence of imprisonment to which parole eligibility could attach. Harris further contended that the substantive penalty provision of the FSMA for juvenile offenders convicted of capital murder—life imprisonment with parole eligibility after thirty years—was not retroactive and thus did not apply to him.
On May 3, 2017, the State filed a motion for determination of the sentencing range. The motion noted that Harris objected to the retroactivity of the FSMA and stated
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