Iowa teen who killed teacher must serve 35 years before being up for parole

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court says an Iowa teen who pleaded guilty to beating his high school Spanish teacher to death with a baseball bat must serve 35 years in prison before the possibility of parole. Willard Miller was 16 when he and another teen killed Nohema Graber, a 66-year-old teacher at Fairfield High School in 2021. He was sentenced last year to life in prison with a mandatory minimum number of years served but appealed his sentence to the Iowa Supreme Court. The justices’ unanimous ruling Friday upholds the district court’s decision, saying the court explicitly allows mandatory minimums for juvenile offenders so long as the unique factors of their case are considered.