Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)

In the United States today, over 2,500 individuals are behind bars for life without the possibility of parole for crimes that they committed as juveniles. Currently, all but six states permit the sentence for certain types of offenses, and Human Rights Watch reports that the United States is the only country in the world that regularly applies life without parole for offenses committed before the age of 18. Four years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court held that applying the death penalty to individuals for crimes they committed as youth constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This November, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument on the constitutionality of life sentences without parole in Graham v. Florida. The resources below discuss JLWOP and the upcoming Supreme Court case.

CCLP Publications

• Amicus Brief in Support of Petitioners, Graham v. Florida [download]
  In this Amicus Brief, the Center for Children's Law & Policy joined with 39 other organizations and 17 experts from the field to argue that JLWOP sentences violate the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The court will hear oral argument in the case on November 9, 2009.

CCLP Presentations

Other Resources

• Until They Die A Natural Death: Youth Sentenced to Life Without Parole in Massachusetts [download]
  This report, issued by the Children's Law Center of Massachusetts in September 2009, looks at Massachusetts youth who have received mandatory life without parole sentences since the Commonwealth's law changed in 1996. It highlights the ways in which youth are fundamentally different from adults and identifies the need for judicial discretion for juveniles at the sentencing phase.

• The Rest of Their Lives [download]
  This 2005 report, co-authored by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, explores JLWOP in-depth, providing an analysis of many issues including international law, life without parole in adult prisons, and developmental differences between youth and adults. The report concludes that youth "should be held accountable, but in a manner that reflects their special capacity for rehabilitation.

• Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence [download]
  This Issue Brief by the MacArthur Foundation's Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice outlines key ways in which juveniles and adults differ at certain ages and phases of development.

• Abolish Life Without Parole Sentences for Children in the USA [link]
  This blog, maintained by The Injustice Must End Committee contains a comprehensive, up-to-date collection of news articles, reports, and other resources on JLWOP.

• Supreme Court Grants Certiorari In Juvenile Life Without Parole Cases [link]
  This article from the American Bar Association's Juvenile Justice E-Newsletter outlines the two JLWOP cases the Supreme Court will hear this November.

• When Kids Get Life [link]
  In May 2007, PBS's Frontline focused on JLWOP, featuring the stories of five prisoners held in Colorado. PBS developed a comprehensive website with a video of the program, a state-by-state map of individuals being held as JLWOP, and a wealth of other resources on the issue.