June, 07 2023, 08:06am EDT
Left to Die in Prison: Emerging Adults 25 and Younger Sentenced to Life without Parole
New study finds 2 in 5 people were 25 and younger when sentenced to LWOP
Today, The Sentencing Project released a report that finds a large portion of people sentenced to die in prison were emerging adults 25 and younger when sentenced to life without parole (LWOP), despite irrefutable evidence that their younger age contributes to diminished capacity to comprehend the risk and consequences of their actions.
“Our criminal legal system relies on an outdated and unscientific view that brain development is complete at age 18,” said Ashley Nellis, Co-Director of Research at The Sentencing Project and lead author of today’s report. Left to Die in Prison: Emerging Adults 25 and Younger Sentenced to Life without Parole finds that the peak age at conviction for people sentenced to LWOP was 23-years-old, falling well within the period of emerging adulthood. “Emerging adults share many key developmental characteristics with adolescents under age 18. Despite their serious crimes, these individuals have tremendous potential for growth and opportunity.”
The Sentencing Project analyzed nearly 30,000 life-without-parole (LWOP) sentences imposed over a 22-year period in 20 states, comprising approximately 70% of the total LWOP population. The study found:
- Two in five people sentenced to LWOP were 25 and younger at the time of their sentence, amounting to more than 11,000 people sentenced over this period.
- The peak age at conviction for people sentenced to LWOP was 23-years-old, falling well within the period of emerging adulthood.
- Two-thirds of those sentenced to LWOP as emerging adults were Black, revealing that being young and Black appears to be associated with a greater likelihood of receiving LWOP than the trends we observe among older people sentenced to LWOP.
U.S. courts have ruled that people under 18 should be protected against the cruelest sentences because of limits in their brain development. The report authors recommend extending this understanding to the full class of individuals who fall into this stage of development. Specifically, we recommend that the U.S. eliminate the use of LWOP and impose a sentence cap at 15 years for people 25 and younger.
The Sentencing Project is a leader in changing the way Americans think about crime and punishment. The Sentencing Project promotes effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice.
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Markey, Bowman Unveil $1.6 Trillion Green New Deal for Public Schools
"Let's build a green future where every student can learn and thrive," said Sen. Ed Markey while introducing the proposed legislation.
Sep 28, 2023
Climate and education advocates on Thursday cheered the introduction in the U.S. Congress by Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Jamaal Bowman of the Green New Deal for Public Schools Act, which the lawmakers said would invest $1.6 trillion to transform the nation's education system while "creating 1.3 million jobs and eliminating 78 million metric tons of carbon emissions over 10 years."
A statement promoting the proposed legislation says it would "fund green upgrades that remove all health harms and carbon pollution fromevery public school in the nation while taking on environmental and racial inequities."
"It will unleash the potential of safe and inspiring public education for 50 million K-12 students in every neighborhood across the country," the statement added. "And, it willadd essential staff to vulnerable schools, create 1.3 million good-paying jobs annually, and reduce carbon emissions by 78 millionmetric tons each year—that's the same as taking 17 million gas-powered cars off the road!"
The measure is currently co-sponsored by 74 House lawmakers and is endorsed by advocacy groups including the Sunrise Movement; American Federation of Teachers; Gen Z for Change; Working Families Party; Sierra Club; Institute for Policy Studies; GreenLatinos; March for Our Lives; Progressive Democrats of America; and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.
"The United States of America should have the best public education system in the world—our students, parents, teachers, staff, and administrators are doing their part, but Congress is failing them at every turn," Markey (D-Mass.) said in a statement. "School buildings are falling apart, educators and staff are creating makeshift air conditioners from window units, aging infrastructure is making our kids and our planet sick—it's a disgrace."
"The Green New Deal for Public Schools Act delivers climate justice, health justice, social justice, economic justice, and racial justice so that students—no matter their zip code—can learn in a safe and healthy environment, and one that is contributing to a healthier planet for the next generation," Markey added. "It is long past due for the United States to invest in schools what schools invest in us."
Bowman (D-N.Y.)—the founder and former principal of the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action, a public middle school in the Bronx—said that "it's time to revolutionize our public schools."
"As we face the devastating impacts of the climate crisis and confront the harms of underinvestment in redlined communities and inequities in our education system, we must center our kids and their futures," he asserted. "Education can change the world."
Bowman continued:
Schools should be the centers of our communities, places of joy and self-discovery where students feel safe to grow, thrive, and explore their passions and curiosity. Right now, they're crumbling, leaving our students, educators, and communities behind. We must take advantage of this moment by putting them first and facing the climate crisis head-on with bold investments in our schools focused on environmental, educational, economic, and racial equity.
"It's time for us to provide our kids with the resources they need to unlock their brilliance and have a livable planet by passing the Green New Deal for Public Schools Act and making urgent and necessary investments to revitalize our public education system," Bowman added.
The proposed legislation comes three days after students at more than 50 high schools across the U.S.—led by the Sunrise Movement—launched the Green New Deals for Schools campaign. The campaign is demanding that education officials provide school buildings powered by renewable energy; free, healthy, local, and sustainable meals; support for finding well-paying, unionized green careers; plans for extreme weather events; and instruction about the climate crisis.
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"President Biden says that climate change is an existential threat," said one campaigner. "Unfortunately, this decision is yet another sign that his administration is not willing to take actions that would match that rhetoric."
Sep 28, 2023
Climate and environmental defenders on Thursday condemned the Biden administration's imminent plan to sell offshore oil and gas drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico over the next five years.
Bloombergreported Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beaudreau told a Senate panel on Thursday that the Biden administration's five-year offshore drilling rights plan will be released on Friday. Beaudreau said the plan was "definitely informed" by the Inflation Reduction Actction Act, which–while allocating hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy investments—mandates fossil fuel drilling, a move made to gain the support of corporate Democrats including Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
"The only way to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis is by stopping new fossil fuel projects."
The previous drilling plan expired last year. The new one will include details regarding drilling rights in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. Congress will have 60 days to review the proposal.
"The only way to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis is by stopping new fossil fuel projects. The Biden administration knows this, and yet is making the outlandish and irresponsible decision to increase oil production for decades to come," Wenonah Hauter, executive director of the advocacy group Food & Water Watch—which warned the drilling plan would be a "climate nightmare"—said in a statement.
"This decision is yet another reminder that thanks to Sen. Joe Manchin, the Inflation Reduction Act requires oil and gas drilling on public lands in order to develop clean energy sources like wind and solar," she added. "This short-sighted political dealmaking will continue to have grave consequences."
Biden was praised by green campaigners earlier this month for canceling existing oil and gas drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and for banning drilling on 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve.
However, the president—who campaigned on a pledge to phase out fossil fuel extraction on public lands and waters—has been criticized for approving new drilling permits ata faster rate than his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, and for approving major fossil fuel infrastructure including the Willow Project in Alaska, the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia, and for green-lighting liquefied natural gas export terminals in Alaska and along the Gulf of Mexico.
Numerous green groups also sued the U.S. Interior Department earlier this year over its plan to offer more than 73 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico in a lease sale.
"Approving new offshore drilling is an unconscionable betrayal of future generations who will be forced to live through an intensifying planetary emergency, and will pose direct and severe threats to healthy oceans and marine life," said Hauter.
"President Biden says that climate change is an existential threat," she added. "Unfortunately, this decision is yet another sign that his administration is not willing to take actions that would match that rhetoric."
Last week, the Biden administration and green groups said they would appeal a Louisiana federal judge's ruling blocking the administration from exempting 6 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico from a drilling lease sale initially scheduled for Wednesday but postponed by the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management after the judge's decision.
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"We commend the Ojai City Council for standing up for what is necessary and just," said an advocate.
Sep 28, 2023
Animal rights advocates are applauding this week following a historic vote in the city of Ojai, California, where local lawmakers on Tuesday night adopted an ordinance to recognize the bodily rights of elephants, making it the first U.S. city to recognize the legal rights of nonhuman animal.
The Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) helped develop and lobbied for the new ordinance, which was introduced by Councilmember Leslie Rule and passed in a 4-1 vote.
Under the ordinance, it is now illegal in Ojai to subject an elephant to the lack of freedom endured by an elephant named Tarra, who was held in captivity in Ojai Valley and exploited for entertainment—including a rollerskating act—in the early 1980s before becoming the first resident of the nation's largest elephant sanctuary in 1995.
"This legislation is historic," said Courtney Fern, director of government relations and campaigns for NhRP. "It's indisputable that elephants suffer when deprived of their freedom and that animal welfare laws can't end their suffering. For elephants and the nonhuman animal rights movement, we are proud to support this first-of-its-kind ordinance, and we commend the Ojai City Council for standing up for what is necessary and just."
"We have known for some time that elephants have strong empathetic responses to one another's condition."
The new law stems from researchers' findings that "elephants are similarly situated to humans, as they have long-term memories, learning abilities, empathy, and self-awareness," according to the city council.
"We have known for some time that elephants have strong empathetic responses to one another's condition," Mark Scott, interim Ojai city manager, toldKTLA. "I am glad that we are able to make this statement supporting the place of these noble creatures in our world."
NhRP expressed hope that the ordinance "will be the first of many such laws: introduced by elected officials who understand that a sustainable and just future for all life on Earth means extending compassion to and establishing legal rights for nonhuman animals."
"In legislatures, in courtrooms, and beyond, that's what this movement is about," said the group.
Josh Jowitt, senior lecturer on natural and animal rights at Newcastle Law School in the United Kingdom, said the ordinance should not be dismissed as pertaining to "just one city."
"It may not seem much," said Jowitt, "but this decision means that U.S. courts can no longer claim there is no precedent in the country for explicitly recognizing an elephant's right to bodily liberty."
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