Stateline,, the daily news service of Pew Charitable Trust, reports that since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that mandatory life sentences for those under 18 years of age amounted cruel and unusual punishment, 11 states have sought to revise their policies to comply with the ruling. According to Stateline, there are over 2000 people who are serving a life sentence for committing a crime as a juvenile.
In her article “After Supreme Court Ruling, States Act on Juvenile Sentences,” Maggie Clark looks at the confusion some states are experiencing with developing a solution that will follow the Court’s ruling while trying to be sensitive to the demands of victims and their families, most of whom are not in favor of the possibility that the juvenile offender in their case will possibly be paroled in the future. Click here to go to website.
Pew provides an interactive, “Life without Parole for Juveniles: States Weigh In,” which looks at the policies developed by the 11 states that took action after the Court’s ruling.
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