States slow to change on life without parole for children
The 2012 Supreme Court ruling that was supposed to spell the end of mandatory life sentences without parole for children hasnt led to a sea change in the criminal justice system, a new analysis from the Sentencing Project has found.
Only a handful of states have passed laws to comply with the 2012 decision, which found that mandatory life sentences for individuals under the age of 18 without the chance for parole violates the Eighth Amendment. The decision also said that juries must be able to consider mitigating factors when deciding sentences because children have not finished developing physically and mentally and could be rehabilitated.
Thirteen of the 28 states that had mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles now ban the practice. Things are slowly improving, but many tough-on-crime states still leave children facing long prison terms.
Some states have simply replaced mandatory life without parole with mandatory minimum sentences of several decades. And, the Sentencing Projects analysis found that most states will allow life without parole to be imposed, as long as it is not required.
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