• Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have made clear that only in the case of murder can a juvenile be given a life sentence without possibility of parole (and never a death sentence). Under-18s, the court said, must get a meaningful opportunity to mature and redeem themselves behind bars. The U.S. Constitution aside, apparently some Florida judges disagree and have subsequently sentenced juveniles to 50 years or longer for non-murders, in some cases assuring that the release date will be beyond the inmates natural life expectancy. In one case found by a Barry University law school program, a juvenile convicted of gun robbery and rape had his earlier life-without-parole sentence reduced to consecutive sentences totaling 170 years. Critics said the Supreme Court should recognize that some juveniles are already thoroughly incorrigible. [New York Times, 1-19-2014] From Chuck Shepherds News of the Weird in Jewish World Review, March 14, 2014.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 15:15:16 +0000
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