Life in Prison for Minors -- Cruel and Unusual?
By JESS BRAVIN
WSJ
WASHINGTON -- In 1989, Joe Sullivan was convicted of breaking into a Pensacola, Fla., house, stealing jewelry and coins, and raping the 72-year-old woman who lived there.
Coming after 17 prior offenses that included assault, burglary and animal cruelty, a judge found that rehabilitation was hopeless. He sentenced Mr. Sullivan to life imprisonment, which in Florida carries no possibility of parole.
Mr. Sullivan was 13 years old. That fact alone makes the sentence unconstitutional, says Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a Montgomery, Ala., nonprofit that represents indigent defendants.
On Nov. 9 the Supreme Court will hear arguments about the sentence of life in prison without parole when imposed on juveniles. The case involves two young men in Florida who committed crimes at ages 13 and 16. Their age alone makes the sentence "cruel and unusual" and therefore unconstitutional, their lawyers say. WSJ's Jess Bravin reports.
Florida Solicitor General Scott Makar says the state is entitled to authorize severe punishment for offenders who deserve it, regardless of age. "There is no consensus against life sentences for juveniles, particularly for heinous crimes such as sexual battery," his brief argues.
(More here.)
WSJ
WASHINGTON -- In 1989, Joe Sullivan was convicted of breaking into a Pensacola, Fla., house, stealing jewelry and coins, and raping the 72-year-old woman who lived there.
Coming after 17 prior offenses that included assault, burglary and animal cruelty, a judge found that rehabilitation was hopeless. He sentenced Mr. Sullivan to life imprisonment, which in Florida carries no possibility of parole.
Mr. Sullivan was 13 years old. That fact alone makes the sentence unconstitutional, says Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a Montgomery, Ala., nonprofit that represents indigent defendants.
On Nov. 9 the Supreme Court will hear arguments about the sentence of life in prison without parole when imposed on juveniles. The case involves two young men in Florida who committed crimes at ages 13 and 16. Their age alone makes the sentence "cruel and unusual" and therefore unconstitutional, their lawyers say. WSJ's Jess Bravin reports.
Florida Solicitor General Scott Makar says the state is entitled to authorize severe punishment for offenders who deserve it, regardless of age. "There is no consensus against life sentences for juveniles, particularly for heinous crimes such as sexual battery," his brief argues.
(More here.)
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