Lesser Known Lifers: Juveniles Serving Life with Parole and Virtual Life Sentences

• In Event: Life, Death, and Life Without Parole: What Matters for the Abolition and Reform of Ultimate Penalties?

Abstract

Data collected by the author in 2016 show that nearly 12,000 people serving life sentences were under 18 at the time of their offense. A fraction of these—those who originally were denied any opportunity for parole—have had their sentences come under scrutiny by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a succession of rulings, Graham v. Florida, Miller v. Alabama, and Montgomery v. Louisiana, approximately 2,000 of cases have become eligible for resentencing and a portion have even been released. Yet there remain 9,500 individuals whose original sentences are arguably inappropriate as well given their young age and reduced culpability. This paper explores this population in terms of race, gender, crime of conviction, and state of origin to provide a first look at juveniles serving lesser-known life sentences.

Author

• Ashley Nellis, The Sentencing Project