Making Sense of Offense Seriousness: Why Offense Severity Matters in the Context of a Juvenile Lifer’s Parole Board Hearing

• In Event: Juvenile Lifers and the Possibility of Parole

Abstract

As defined by law, offense seriousness has an objective component. The amount of harm can be objectively measured, and the severity of the offense can be defined by the category of sentencing offense. Besides the legally defined objective part of offense severity, there is a subjective component that requires decision-makers to make assessments about the seriousness of offense. In this paper, we examine offense seriousness assessments made by parole boards and others in a parole board hearing. The sentencing offense does not change, but assessments of offense seriousness may vary as they are situationally articulated. To examine the situational, subjective aspects of offense seriousness, we review videoed parole board hearings of juvenile lifers. The recorded hearings cover a 10-year-period, and were obtained to assess the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to require states to provide their juvenile lifers with a meaningful review. Critical to any meaningful review is understanding how assessments of offense severity are appropriately made.

Authors

• Simon Singer, Northeastern University

• Stuti Subbaiah Kokkalera, Northeastern University