Parole Assessments of Adolescence: Juvenile Offenders Sentenced in Criminal Court

• In Event: Parole and Community Supervision

Abstract

A series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions (Graham, 2010, and Miller, 2012) regarding juveniles sentence to life recognized the relevance of adolescence as a mitigating consideration. No matter how serious the offense, states can no longer automatically sentence juveniles to life without any possibility of parole. In addition, a meaningful review should be conducted, taking into account their adolescence at time of offense. We examine the extent to which a meaningful review is conducted, drawing on 308 parole board records of decision and recorded hearings. Hearings and records of decision were coded for the relevance of the offender’s adolescence to the decision to grant parole. We find that reoffending risk and offense severity are more critical than the adolescence of the offender. The extent to which offense severity is mitigated depends on circumstances related to the offense. Reoffending risk is determined based on how well the offender used available programs while incarcerated. We also found that after the 2008 Roper decision, parole boards are more likely to grant parole to juvenile offenders.

Authors

• Simon I. Singer, Northeastern University

• Edward P. Mulvey, University of Pittsburgh