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PDFFrom The LATimes:
The [Supreme Court] will hear oral arguments March 20, in two cases involving 14-year-olds, on whether it is unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment to put young juvenile murderers in prison without hope of release.
The justices have been moving toward greater protection for minors. They abolished the death penalty for juveniles in 2005, and in 2010 ruled out life sentences without parole for them except in cases of homicide.
In Sacramento, a state Senate-passed bill to make juvenile murderers eligible for parole fell two votes short in the Assembly last year but is up for reconsideration this week.
The attorneys for the 14-year-olds point to forensic evidence that a teenager’s brain is not fully developed and that youths consequently take too many risks. The research comes from Laurence Steinberg, a psychology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. “Adolescents, because of their immaturity, should not be deemed as culpable as adults,” Steinberg said. “But they also are not innocent children whose crimes should be excused.”
Even if these inmates win in Washington or California, it does not mean they will all be released. They would have to prove to judges and parole boards that they deserve to go home, probably after they have served about 25 years. They would need to show near-unblemished prison records, true remorse and proof they can function in society.
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