SCOTUS Case: Life Without Parole for Teens

On March 20, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments about whether it is constitutional to sentence someone to life without the possibility of parole for a crime they committed as a juvenile-even homicide. Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v . Hobbs,  two cases involving teenage boys who committed homicide, may turn the court's reasoning based on a new understanding about brain development, which indicates that children under 18 have a diminished capacity for understanding the consequences of their action. Evan Miller and Kuntrell Jackson, the petitioners in these cases, are two of the seventy three persons serving a life without parole sentence for a crime committed by 14 year olds.

Evan Miller at 14 yrs. old

The current case follows the decision in Roper v. Simmons, 2005, where the court struck down capital punishment for juveniles who committed crimes before they turned 18. In  Graham v. Florida, 2010, the high court banned life without parole for young people whose crimes did not include homicide. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority in the Graham case:

"because juveniles have lessened culpability they are less deserving of the most severe punishments." His reasoning stemmed from "developments in psychology and brain science [that] continue to show fundamental differences between juvenile and adult minds. For example, parts of the brain involved in behavior control continue to mature through late adolescence."

Bryan Stevenson, the executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, is arguing both cases before the court and will likely ask the justices to extend the "kids are different" reasoning to juveniles convicted of homicide. The basis for the case is simple: It's wrong to make a final, irrevocable judgement that a teen will never be suited for release later in life. Because of the brain science we know better.

Stevenson argues to extend the logic of Graham: "To wholly disregard a 14-year-old offender's age and age-related characteristics in sentencing him to be imprisoned for the remainder of his existence makes a mockery of" the court's previous analysis of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment."

Kuntrell Jackson

Human Rights Watch tells us that there were 2500 people serving life in prison without parole in the U. S. for crimes they committed before they turned 18. Robin Walker Sterling, an assistant professor at the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law, says that the petitioners in Miller and Jackson are asking that the court mandate that anyone sentenced to life as a juvenile receives a "meaningful review" to show authorities that they have matured since committing their crime, and may be worthy of eventual release.




Related Article:
Another Bite of the Graham

Posted in: Culture,Evan Miller,Graham v. Florida,Jackson v. Hobbs,Kuntrell Jackson,Miller v. Alabama,Politics,Reinhold Niebuhr. The Emerald Quill,Roper v. Simmons