In Alabama teens get life sentences

Alabama is among 19 states where 13- and 14-year-olds have been sentenced to life in prison without parole, a violation of international law, the Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative said in a report released Wednesday. But Alabama is low on that list.

Pennsylvania and Florida easily outpaced other states, with 18 and 15 children of that age, respectively, sentenced to life without parole, the report said. There have been two such instances in Alabama.

The report was meant to draw attention to appeals the Equal Justice Initiative has filed on behalf of the incarcerated youths, claiming that their sentences - usually resulting from mandatory sentencing laws - are unconstitutional.

The report found seven instances of 13- or 14-year-olds sentenced to life without parole for crimes in which no one was killed, and one instance in which a California 14-year-old will spend the rest of his life in prison for a crime in which no one was injured. Read More ...