Children & the Law Blog

Several states are weighing legislation to that would prevent juveniles from receiving life sentences without the possibility of parole, according to an excellent article recently in Christian Science Monitor States reconsider life behind bars for youth. There are currently nearly 2,400 juveniles currently incarcerated without the possibility of parole across the nation, a situation that makes the United States unique among modern nations for it’s willingness to throw away the key on youth offenders.

Legislatures considering bills in Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Nebraska, and California are attempting in part to balance the rehabilitative potential of young inmates with the emotional response of victims’ families who feel betrayed by the reversal under consideration. Likely to be a central part of the debate are the developmental differences between children and adults and the implications of Roper v. Simmons, a Supreme Court case which prohibited the application of the death penalty to minors on 8th Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment) grounds.

• Christian Science Monitor: States reconsider life behind bars for youth - With nearly 2,400 inmates sentenced to life as juveniles, the U.S. is the only nation imposing the mandate on children
• PBS: When Kids Get Life (watch the program online)
• Illinois Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Children
• “Categorically Less Culpable: Children Sentenced to Life Without Possibility of Parole in Illinois” (.pdf)
• Compassion in Juvenile Sentencing Blog
• A statement on the issue of Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP) from IllinoisVictims.org