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Q:How many children were under 18 when they were imprisoned for life without parole in the US?
A: Over 2,500
Q: How many other countries imprison youth for life without parole?
A: None
This spring, in a 5/4 decision, The Supreme Court decided that it was not legal to imprison for life without parole a person under the age of 18 who had NOT been involved in a murder. This ruling affected the lives of at least 127 inmates. 73 were sentenced to life in prison without parole at the age of 13 or 14 years old.
This ruling did not free any of them. It did not parole them. It merely gave them the right to -- at some point -- a re-sentencing hearing. That hearing could result in anything that state will allow, anything except life with no parole. Hopefully these people have good legal representation. Justice Kennedy indicated that "... of the 129 juvenile offenders serving life without parole for a non-homicide crime, 77 are behind bars in Florida. The other 52 criminals are in just 10 states and the federal system."
But this ruling does not affect juveniles who were convicted of a murder-related offense -- for instance, the 15-year-kid whose crack-addict mother's dealer forced him to accompany him on a job threatening to kill his mother if he didn't. A murder took place. The child, because he was there -- holding no weapon, doing nothing violent -- was sentenced to life without parole. His name is Kenneth Young. He is 24 now. Felony murder convictions are not covered by the SCOTUS ruling. Juveniles who were present at a murder but did not plan it or commit it account for over 25% of the total group sentenced to life without parole.
The overall "leader" in incarcerated juveniles serving life without parole for any crime is 444 in Pennsylvania.
One of the cases there, described by the Philadelphia Daily News is this one:
For being a traitorous friend, Stacey Torrance was thrown into jail for life.
Torrance was just 14 when an older cousin convinced him in 1988 to lure a rich kid to a North Philadelphia corner, where the cousin and an accomplice kidnapped and later shot and strangled him. Torrance didn't kill 16-year-old Alexander Porter and insisted he never knew of his cousin's murderous intent. But 20 years later, he sits in a state prison in Chester, with no prospect for parole or eventual freedom.
Another case is covered in The Tidings, a Catholic news service says:
The court based its ruling on Graham v. Florida, in which 16-year-old Terrence Graham and three other adolescents attempted to rob a restaurant. As part of a plea bargain, Graham received three-year probation under his promise that he would change his life, but a year later he violated his probation when caught in a robbery. Although a pre-sentencing report from the state Department of Corrections recommended a maximum of four years, Graham was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Terrance was a "rough kid." He got caught in a police chase after running away from the scene of a robbery with guns in his car. The Florida judge decided he was beyond help. Forever.
Of the 2,750 juveniles in prison for life, Florida currently has 266 followed by California at 250. Click here to see how many your state have imprisoned for life. The good news is that not all states allow this. Twelve do not.
The Supreme Court ruling has, to date, resulted in no re-sentencing, according to an interview I had with a representative from the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. And even if the hearings happen, what results from them will be a wild variable.
These kids serving life are not all "warm and fuzzy" and in jail by accident. Some really do have tragedy and mistake written all over them, like Kenneth Young. But some are frightening in their brutality, people you would be scared to have living near you. They run the gamut. But they all have been told there will be no life for them outside of prison. Ever. And they all have been tried as adults.
But none of them were adults. Robert Schwartz of the Juvenile Law Center was quoted in CNN this year as saying:
...defendants differ in culpability,
