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CJJ Adopts Position on Juvenile Life Without Parole Sentences
On August 4, 2009, on recommendation by the CJJ Government Relations Committee, the CJJ Executive Board approved a position opposing the imposition of life sentences without the possibility of parole for youth who were under the age of 18 when they committed the offense (juvenile life without parole or “JLWOP”). CJJ also signed on in support of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, a national campaign dedicated to ending the practice of sentencing youth to prison for the rest of their lives.
The United States is the only nation where juveniles – more than 2,500 as of 2009 – are serving life without parole sentences for crimes they committed while under the age of 18. Alaska, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, New Mexico, Oregon and the District of Columbia forbid the sentencing of juveniles to a life term of imprisonment without the possibility of parole (JLWOP), and there are no people known to be serving JLWOP in Maine, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and West Virginia. The vast majority of states and the U.S. federal government, however, allow JLWOP.
This October, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases, Graham v. Florida and Sullivan v. Florida, challenging the imposition of life sentences without the possibility of parole in cases where the defendant was under the age of 18 at the time of the offense. Lawyers for both cases, both of which center on cases where the offense did not result in a homicide, will argue that the same rationale the Supreme Court used in Roper v. Simmons (2005) to abolish the juvenile death penalty applies to juvenile life without parole sentences.
As the Supreme Court recognized in Roper, juveniles are different from adults. The impulse control and decision-making capacities of juveniles under the age of 18 are not as developed as those of adults. Consequently, researchers have concluded that juveniles are not as culpable as adults for the offenses they commit. Similarly, due to their developmental capacity, youth under the age of 18 have been shown to be more amenable to treatment than adults and less likely to re-offend in the future when held accountable and treated in ways that are appropriate to their developmental stage.
Detailed research on the use of JLWOP around the nation has documented evidence of systemic racial disparities, gross failures in legal representation, and many examples of youth being sentenced more harshly than adults convicted of the same crimes. Nearly 60% of people serving JLWOP are first time offenders.
Elimination of JLWOP does not mean that youth will not be held accountable for serious offenses. Instead, careful periodic reviews for youth who have been convicted of serious offenses will help responsible decision-makers in each state better determine whether these young people continue to pose a threat to the community, and will ensure that those who can prove they have reformed are given an opportunity to re-enter society as contributing citizens.
To view the CJJ position opposing JLWOP in its entirety, click here.
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