Jakaris Taylor, Sentenced to Life at 17 for Role in Gang Rape, Now Resentenced to 60 Years

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

Mug shot of Jakaris Taylor taken yesterday.

​Jakaris Taylor, one of up to ten people who took part in a West Palm Beach gang rape of a 35-year-old woman in 2007 and the beating of both the woman and her 12-year-old son, was resentenced today to 60 years in prison.

Taylor was 16 at the time of the crime, 17 at the time of sentencing, and faced a maximum sentence of life in prison -- eight times over -- plus an additional 35 years.

Due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling stating that you can't lock away minors for life, a judge sentenced the now-20-year-old Taylor to 60 years in prison, plus the permanent title of sex offender.

Taylor and three others were convicted of raping the woman repeatedly, forcing her to perform oral sex on her son, and pouring some chemicals on both of them before leaving.

Avion Larson, who was 14 at the time of the crime, is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence.

Nathan Walker, who was 16, has already been resentenced to 60 years in prison.

The other convict, Tommy Poindexter, was 18 at the time of the crime. He'll get to hang on to his life sentence.

Each of them was tried -- and sentenced -- as an adult in 2009.

The 2010 Supreme Court decision Graham v. Florida, which now applies to any nonhomicide committed by a juvenile, is what may allow at least three of the men to see the light of day again.

The majority opinion in that case, penned by Justice Anthony Kennedy, stated that at the time of the decision, there were 129 juveniles nationwide serving life sentences without parole for nonhomicidal crimes -- 77 of them in Florida.

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