“Court to Look Again at Juvenile Life Sentences”
By Lyle Denniston (December 2014)
Summary: The Supreme Court will consider whether its 2012 decision in Miller v. Alabama, limiting sentences of life without parole for minors who commit murder, applies retroactively.
“The Rollback in Extreme Sentences for Children: Graham, Miller, and SB9”
By J. Bradley O’Connell, Assistant Director and Richard Braucher, Staff Attorney for the First District Appellate Project (January 2013)
Summary: This article attempts to make sense of the dramatic changes that have occurred during 2012 in the area of extreme adult sentences for offenses committed by children.
“Life Sentence Reform For Juveniles May Pass By St. Louis Robber Serving 241 Years”
By Jennifer S. Mann (August 2014)
Summary: In Missouri, Bobby Bostic was sentenced to 241 years in prison for a robbery he committed at age 16.
“Federal Court in Pennsylvania Finds Miller is Retroactive and Authorizes Resentencing”
By the Equal Justice Initiative (August 2014)
Summary: In Pennsylvania, the federal district court ruled that Miller v. Alabama is retroactive.
“States Adopt Sentencing Changes Following Supreme Court Ruling on Juvenile Lifers”
By Prison Legal News (May 2014)
Summary: A wave of legal maneuvering is sweeping across the nation due to a deeply divided U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding juveniles serving mandatory sentences of life without parole, and a number of states have taken action as a result of the ruling.
“Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence”
By the MacArthur Foundation Research Network
Summary: Should developmental immaturity be added to the list of mitigating factors? Should juveniles, in general, be treated more leniently than adults? In short, YES.
“Is 100 Years a Life Sentence? Opinions Are Divided”
By Adam Liptak of the New York Times (April 2013)
Summary: If people who are too young to vote commit crimes short of murder, the Supreme Court said in 2010, they should not be sentenced to die in prison.
“SCOTUS Declines Case on De Facto Life Sentences for Juveniles”
By Debra Cassens Weiss of the ABA Journal (April 2013)
Summary: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to clear up some confusion over lengthy sentences for juveniles when it refused last week to hear the case of a juvenile who won’t be eligible for early release until he is 95 years old.
“How Long is Too Long?: Conflicting State Responses to De Facto Life Without Parole Sentences After Graham v. Florida and Miller v. Alabama.”
By Kelly Scavone of the Fordham University of Law (2014)
Summary: Addresses the unconstitutionality of virtual life without parole sentences under Graham and inconsistencies created between sentences given to homicide and nonhomicide juvenile offenders after Miller. Analyzes statutory responses to juvenile LWOP sentences and proposes that either parole restrictions for juveniles must be removed entirely or comprehensive statutory schemes must be enacted to provide multiple opportunities for release.
“State Supreme Court Reviews Local Cases”
By Julia Reynolds of the Monterey Herald (05/20/2014)
Summary: In California, justices seek to clarify new sentencing laws.
“Another Bite at the Graham Cracker: The Supreme Court’s Surprise Revisiting of Juvenile Life Without Parole in Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs”
By Scott Hechinger for The Georgetown Law Journal (2011)
Summary: Commentary which explores the two juvenile LWOP cases taken up by the Supreme Court in 2011. This author wrote one of the first thorough reviews of the Supreme Court’s Eighth Amendment work in Graham.
“CCI Backs Juvenile Justice Reforms”
By the Catholic Conference of Illinois (03/08/2013)
Summary: The Catholic Conference of Illinois is supporting several juvenile justice reform initiatives, including legislation calling for the elimination of mandatory life imprisonment without the parole.