At the ACLU we work to protect the rights of all Americans, but for me there is something that feels doubly urgent when it comes to the rights of the most vulnerable among us. That’s the case when it comes to children, which is why I was gratified this year when the Supreme Court struck down mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders (JLWOP).
Before the Court’s rulings in Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs, there were nearly 30 states where some offenses actually required locking children up and throwing away the key. Judges had no discretion to take into account the defendant’s age or circumstances, or the unique ability of young people to grow and change.
Commendably, even before these rulings there were no people in Maine serving JLWOP sentences for offenses committed as juveniles. There were, however, over 2,500 people serving such sentences across the nation – young people sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison before they were even old enough to drive or join the military.
Unfortunately, the rulings in Miller and Jackson didn’t go so far as to ban JLWOP sentences all together – rather, they only require that the circumstances of each case be considered before handing down the harshest of sentences. But they go a long way toward encouraging states to stop treating young people caught up in the criminal justice system as throwaway kids, and to start treating them with compassion.
All this week we're blogging about our favorite civil liberties moments of 2012. Go here to read all the posts and check back regularly for updates.
