By Ray King
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday said Circuit Judge Jodi Raines Dennis was correct when she dismissed a petition by a man serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole who alleged he should be parole eligible.
In 1991, Calvin Lowe, 74, was convicted of two counts of capital murder and sentenced to two concurrent terms of life in prison without parole.
In his petition, Lowe contends he was the victim of age discrimination because inmates who commit capital murder as minors may be parole eligible after serving 30-years in prison.
The Supreme Court said state law provides that the parole board may grant parole, not shall grant parole.
In Arkansas, a sentence of life means life and an inmate sentenced to life is not eligible to apply for parole unless that sentence has been commuted to a term of years by the governor.
Lowe committed capital murder when he was 29-years-old and is not in the same situation as inmates who were minors at the time of the offense. He is serving his sentence at the Cummins Unit.
