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Monday, November 01, 2010

Courts - "Judges Weigh Fairness of Juvenile Life Without Parole"

In this WSJ Law Blog entry from Friday, Oct. 29, Nathan Koppel wrote:

Is it cruel and unusual punishment to sentence youngsters to life without parole?

It’s a question judges increasingly face as they deal with the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s May ruling that life without parole is unconstitutional for juveniles who commit crimes short of murder.

“A life without parole sentence improperly denies the juvenile offender a chance to demonstrate growth and maturity,” wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy for the majority in Graham v. Florida.

About 150 inmates are automatically eligible for lighter sentences in the wake of the ruling, but impact could be bigger as lawyers are arguing that life without parole is unconstitutional for any juvenile crime, including murder.

From Mr. Koppel's story in the WSJ itself:
For example, Joseph Ligon, 73, a Pennsylvania inmate who has been in prison about 57 years, is challenging the life-without-parole sentence he received for his role in two murders committed when he was 15. Mr. Ligon "has learned and grown," said his attorney Bradley Bridge. "The child who went to prison in 1953 no longer exists."

Mr. Ligon's appeal is likely to be one of hundreds of cases testing the reach of the Supreme Court ruling. Last week, the Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that contends that Graham should apply to the case of an inmate sentenced to life without parole for killing a police officer at the age of 15.

What about Indiana? IU-Indy Law Professor Joerl Schumm responded to that question from the ILB:
A juvenile under sixteen may never receive life without parole according to Indiana statute. Those sixteen or seventeen who commit murder with at least one aggravating circumstance might receive LWOP.
IC 35-50-2-3 Murder

Sec. 3. (a) A person who commits murder shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of between forty-five (45) and sixty-five (65) years, with the advisory sentence being fifty-five (55) years. In addition, the person may be fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a person who was:

(1) at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time the murder was committed may be sentenced to:
(A) death; or
(B) life imprisonment without parole; and
(2) at least sixteen (16) years of age but less than eighteen (18) years of age at the time the murder was committed may be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole;
under section 9 of this chapter unless a court determines under IC 35-36-9 that the person is an individual with mental retardation.
Here are earlier ILB entries on Graham v. Florida.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 1, 2010 07:50 AM
Posted to Courts in general