SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
As Supreme Court Listens, Here's a Look at What It Means to Lock Kids Away for Life
On Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court revisited the question of whether juveniles convicted of murder should be given mandatory sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole. This is the Court's latest review of how juvenile offenders should be treated differently than adults; the justices have previously ruled against imposing death sentences on juveniles and imposing life sentences on youth who aren't convicted of murder.
Mar 21, 2012
On Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court revisited the question of whether juveniles convicted of murder should be given mandatory sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole. This is the Court's latest review of how juvenile offenders should be treated differently than adults; the justices have previously ruled against imposing death sentences on juveniles and imposing life sentences on youth who aren't convicted of murder.
The two cases they are debating are from two 14-year-olds who were sentenced to life without parole for two separate killings. One case is Miller v. Alabama which involved Evan Miller, who, with another juvenile, was convicted of killing his neighbor and setting fire to his home. The other case is Jackson v. Hobbs, which involved Kuntrell Jackson of Blytheville, Arkansas, who, with two other juveniles, attempted to rob a store and one of the youth killed the clerk with a sawed-off shotgun.
Thirty-three states currently sentence juveniles to life without parole. And there are over 2,500 juvenile offenders living out these sentences, with the largest number -- 444 -- in Pennsylvania. Most of them are young black men.
Those who argue against such lengthy sentences say that many of these juvenile offenders were caught in the cradle to prison pipeline -- experiencing violence and abuse at a young age, and grappling with an unstable household and inability to attend school. Juveniles who are placed in adult prisons are at much higher risk of physical and sexual assaults by older inmates and prison guards, a fact that some say make their lengthy sentences cruel and unusual.
According to The Lives of Juvenile Lifers, the upswing of homicides committed by juveniles soared in 1993. Every state responded with passing laws that either allowed or mandated that teenagers be tried as adults under certain circumstances. So as the juvenile murder arrests rates increased in the mid-1990s, so did the number of teens who were sentenced to life without parole.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 ColorLines
Hatty Lee
Hatty Lee is the Art and Production Manager for the Applied Research Center and ColorLines Magazine.
On Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court revisited the question of whether juveniles convicted of murder should be given mandatory sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole. This is the Court's latest review of how juvenile offenders should be treated differently than adults; the justices have previously ruled against imposing death sentences on juveniles and imposing life sentences on youth who aren't convicted of murder.
The two cases they are debating are from two 14-year-olds who were sentenced to life without parole for two separate killings. One case is Miller v. Alabama which involved Evan Miller, who, with another juvenile, was convicted of killing his neighbor and setting fire to his home. The other case is Jackson v. Hobbs, which involved Kuntrell Jackson of Blytheville, Arkansas, who, with two other juveniles, attempted to rob a store and one of the youth killed the clerk with a sawed-off shotgun.
Thirty-three states currently sentence juveniles to life without parole. And there are over 2,500 juvenile offenders living out these sentences, with the largest number -- 444 -- in Pennsylvania. Most of them are young black men.
Those who argue against such lengthy sentences say that many of these juvenile offenders were caught in the cradle to prison pipeline -- experiencing violence and abuse at a young age, and grappling with an unstable household and inability to attend school. Juveniles who are placed in adult prisons are at much higher risk of physical and sexual assaults by older inmates and prison guards, a fact that some say make their lengthy sentences cruel and unusual.
According to The Lives of Juvenile Lifers, the upswing of homicides committed by juveniles soared in 1993. Every state responded with passing laws that either allowed or mandated that teenagers be tried as adults under certain circumstances. So as the juvenile murder arrests rates increased in the mid-1990s, so did the number of teens who were sentenced to life without parole.
Hatty Lee
Hatty Lee is the Art and Production Manager for the Applied Research Center and ColorLines Magazine.
On Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court revisited the question of whether juveniles convicted of murder should be given mandatory sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole. This is the Court's latest review of how juvenile offenders should be treated differently than adults; the justices have previously ruled against imposing death sentences on juveniles and imposing life sentences on youth who aren't convicted of murder.
The two cases they are debating are from two 14-year-olds who were sentenced to life without parole for two separate killings. One case is Miller v. Alabama which involved Evan Miller, who, with another juvenile, was convicted of killing his neighbor and setting fire to his home. The other case is Jackson v. Hobbs, which involved Kuntrell Jackson of Blytheville, Arkansas, who, with two other juveniles, attempted to rob a store and one of the youth killed the clerk with a sawed-off shotgun.
Thirty-three states currently sentence juveniles to life without parole. And there are over 2,500 juvenile offenders living out these sentences, with the largest number -- 444 -- in Pennsylvania. Most of them are young black men.
Those who argue against such lengthy sentences say that many of these juvenile offenders were caught in the cradle to prison pipeline -- experiencing violence and abuse at a young age, and grappling with an unstable household and inability to attend school. Juveniles who are placed in adult prisons are at much higher risk of physical and sexual assaults by older inmates and prison guards, a fact that some say make their lengthy sentences cruel and unusual.
According to The Lives of Juvenile Lifers, the upswing of homicides committed by juveniles soared in 1993. Every state responded with passing laws that either allowed or mandated that teenagers be tried as adults under certain circumstances. So as the juvenile murder arrests rates increased in the mid-1990s, so did the number of teens who were sentenced to life without parole.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.