On June 25, 2012 Reentry Central reported, βThe Supreme Court ruled today that juveniles convicted of murder cannot be sentenced to life without possibility of parole. Speaking for herself and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor Justice Elena Kagan wrote tha β(We) hold that mandatory life without parole for those under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on 'cruel and unusual punishment.β The decision was 5 β 4, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissenting. To view the complete decision click here to go to website
The state of Connecticut is following the lead of other states who are considering, or are already in compliance with, changing laws eliminating life sentences for juveniles.
The CT Mirror reports that on November 29 the state will hold a public hearing in which interested parties can express their views and concerns concerning the proposed changes, and will most likely support changing the sentencing laws regarding juveniles in December. An example of the changes, according to the CT Mirror, would be that juveniles originally sentenced to 60 years or more would be eligible for parole after serving 30 years.
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