Willard Miller was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 35 years in prison for murdering his Spanish teacher Nohema Graber. (Screenshot of Miller: KCRG; image of Graber: City of Fairfield, Iowa)
A teenager who beat his Spanish teacher to death for giving him a bad grade was sentenced to life in prison for the murder. Under the terms of a plea deal, prosecutors in Jefferson County, Iowa, asked that Willard Noble Chaiden Miller, 17, get life in prison with a minimum sentence of 30 years. Judge Shawn Showers, however, did not have to stick to the letter of that. He set the minimum sentence at 35 years.
The jurist said that the bedrock of the criminal justice system was deterrence and rehabilitation, and he acknowledged the defendant’s youth. But Miller’s decision to murder Nohema Graber, 66, was “horrific” in light of the behavior and motivation, the judge said.
“And ultimately, while acknowledging your youth and developing brain, I find that your intent and actions were sinister and evil,” Showers said.
The judge voiced hope that Miller, who was 16 when carrying out the crime with co-defendant Jeremey Everett Goodale, would reflect on what he did and grow as a person. Even so, he called out the 17-year-old’s “arrogance” for claiming to have a higher IQ than most of the jail staff. Showers suggested this attitude could be because of his age or it could be a matter of Miller’s set personality.
