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Abstract

The Supreme Court recently abolished mandatory life without parole (LWOP) for juveniles in Miller v. Alabama (2012). The Court’s ruling follows a series of decisions that have recognized the inherent differences between children and adults for purposes of sentencing. As a result, the Court has declared that no person who commits an offense prior to the age of 18 can be sentenced to LWOP without an examination of mitigating factors, including age. This new mandate creates difficult policy questions and has far-reaching implications. This article considers the fate of the 2,000 inmates who are serving a mandatory LWOP sentence. Second, this article considers the impact of the Court’s ruling on the states that currently have mandatory LWOP sentencing laws. Third, the article addresses the ruling’s impact on families of murder victims. Finally, the author considers the likelihood juvenile LWOP will be completely abolished and offers suggestions for future research.

Keywords

juveniles criminal justice policy sentencing policy

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The End of Mandatory Juvenile Life Without Parole

Abstract

Keywords

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