This book analyzes the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court rulings deeming juvenile life without parole (LWOP) sentences to be cruel and unusual punishment. These Court decisions brought about controversy and resistance in the criminal justice field, while at the same time providing hope for those 2,300 people who never thought they had a chance to experience life as an adult outside prison. By looking in depth at the lives of some of the individuals serving life terms, and understanding both the prosecutors who oppose review and resentencing of juvenile lifers and those who are sincerely following the Supreme Court’s guidelines, this book provides a comprehensive understanding of the issues – as well as the people – involved in the sentencing (and potential resentencing) of juveniles to life without the possibility of parole. The authors provide unique, perceptive and straightforward profiles on some of the prisoners who were ultimately sentenced to LWOP after being involved in criminal offenses committed before their 18th birthdays. The book poignantly features the experiences of young people who did not commit a murder yet were still sentenced to life terms, but also delves into the perspectives of the families of victims of juvenile offenders, prosecutors on both sides of the issue, psychologists who have interviewed many of the juvenile lifers and advocates for change in the way juveniles are treated by the criminal justice system. The decisions in Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana clearly demonstrated that the Court’s view of juveniles evolved over decades to reflect advances in our understanding of the unique characteristics of youth and their involvement in juvenile crimes. This book takes the position that the sentence of life without the possibility of parole for youth is wasteful of both human lives and scarce public resources. The authors write about the human concerns on both sides of the question, and, ultimately, allow readers to make their own decisions about how society should best handle juvenile offenders. This engaging ethnographic treatment will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, corrections, juvenile justice, and delinquency; practitioners working in social policy; and all those interested in a criminal justice system capable of positive outcomes for involved youth.

This book analyzes the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court rulings deeming juvenile life without parole (LWOP) sentences to be cruel and unusual punishment. These Court decisions brought about controversy and resistance in the criminal justice field, while at the same time providing hope for those 2,300 people who never thought they had a chance to experience life as an adult outside prison. By looking in depth at the lives of some of the individuals serving life terms, and understanding both the prosecutors who oppose review and resentencing of juvenile lifers and those who are sincerely following the Supreme Court's guidelines, this book provides a comprehensive understanding of the issues - as well as the people - involved in the sentencing (and potential resentencing) of juveniles to life without the possibility of parole. The authors provide unique, perceptive, and straightforward profiles on some of the prisoners who were ultimately sentenced to LWOP after being involved in criminal offenses committed before their eighteenth birthdays. The book poignantly features the experiences of young people who did not commit a murder yet were still sentenced to life terms, but also delves into the perspectives of the families of victims of juvenile offenders, prosecutors on both sides of the issue, psychologists who have interviewed many of the juvenile lifers, and advocates for change in the way juveniles are treated by the criminal justice system. The decisions in Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana clearly demonstrated that the Court's view of juveniles evolved over decades to reflect advances in our understanding of the unique characteristics of youth and their involvement in juvenile crimes. This book takes the position that the sentence of life without the possibility of parole for youth is wasteful of both human lives and scarce public resources. The authors write about the human concerns on both sides of the question, and, ultimately, allow readers to make their own decisions about how society should best handle juvenile offenders. This engaging ethnographic treatment will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, corrections, juvenile justice, and delinquency; practitioners working in social policy; and all those interested in a criminal justice system capable of positive outcomes for involved youth.

Methodology -- Recommendations -- To the Governor of California -- To the California State Legislature -- To state and county officials -- To state judges -- To California District Attorneys -- To defense attorneys -- Teenagers sentenced to die in California prisons -- Why youth are serving life without parole in California -- Crimes that result in a life without parole sentence -- Unjust results -- Many youth sentenced to life without parole did not actually kill -- The worst racial disparity in the nation -- County sentencing practices differ -- Influence of peers -- Adult codefendants -- Legal representation that compromises justice -- The late teens and early twenties : a dramatic period for personal growth -- Teens' unique potential for change -- Personal experience of change -- Life inside prison -- Fear and violence -- Barriers to rehabilitative opportunities -- The financial cost of sentencing youth to life without parole in California -- The perspectives of victims -- What those serving life without parole want to say to the families of their victims.

In California over 300 youth have been sentenced to life without parole. This update presents current data on the number of youth sentenced to life without parole in California, and details significant legal changes in recent years. It also describes the cases of several young people convicted of murder: two sentenced to parole-eligible sentences who served many years in prison and are now out and contributing to their communities, and two sentenced to life without parole who will die in prison. Law and public opinion about life sentences for youth have evolved in recent years. Experience and a growing body of scientific evidence confirm there is tremendous emotional and mental growth during the late teens, and that young people differ from adults. As US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has stated: "Society changes. Knowledge accumulates. We learn, sometimes, from our mistakes..." California's law permitting juveniles to be sentenced to life without parole for murder was enacted before major advances in understanding adolescent brain development, and fails to recognize that teenagers are particularly amenable to change and rehabilitation. All youth should have the chance to prove they have changed, and to earn parole.

"I can think of no authors more qualified to research the complex impact of life sentences than Marc Mauer and Ashley Nellis. They have the expertise to track down the information that all citizens need to know and the skills to translate that research into accessible and powerful prose." —Heather Ann Thompson, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Blood in the Water From the author of the classic Race to Incarcerate, a forceful and necessary argument for eliminating life sentences, including profiles of six people directly impacted by life sentences by formerly incarcerated author Kerry Myers Most Western democracies have few or no people serving life sentences, yet here in the United States more than 200,000 people are sentenced to such prison terms. Marc Mauer and Ashley Nellis of The Sentencing Project argue that there is no practical or moral justification for a sentence longer than twenty years. Harsher sentences have been shown to have little effect on crime rates, since people "age out" of crime—meaning that we're spending a fortune on geriatric care for older prisoners who pose little threat to public safety. Extreme punishment for serious crime also has an inflationary effect on sentences across the spectrum, helping to account for severe mandatory minimums and other harsh punishments. A thoughtful and stirring call to action, The Meaning of Life also features moving profiles of a half dozen people affected by life sentences, written by former "lifer" and award-winning writer Kerry Myers. The book will tie in to a campaign spearheaded by The Sentencing Project and offers a much-needed road map to a more humane criminal justice system.

Radical ideas for changing the justice system, rooted in the real-life experiences of those in overpoliced communities, from the acclaimed former federal prosecutor and author of Chokehold Paul Butler was an ambitious federal prosecutor, a Harvard Law grad who gave up his corporate law salary to fight the good fight—until one day he was arrested on the street and charged with a crime he didn't commit. In a book Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree calls “a must-read,” Butler looks at places where ordinary citizens meet the justice system—as jurors, witnesses, and in encounters with the police—and explores what “doing the right thing” means in a corrupt system. No matter how powerless those caught up in the web of the law may feel, there is a chance to regain agency, argues Butler. Through groundbreaking and sometimes controversial methods—jury nullification (voting “not guilty” in drug cases as a form of protest), just saying “no” when the police request your permission to search, and refusing to work inside the system as a snitch or a prosecutor—ordinary people can tip the system towards actual justice. Let’s Get Free is an evocative, compelling look at the steps we can collectively take to reform our broken system.

Recommendations -- Background : Youth on trial -- Sentencing of youth to life without parole -- The difference between youth and adults -- Life without parole in adult prison -- Life without parole under U.S. law -- Just sentences for youth : International human rights law -- Conclusion : Life without parole and the purposes of criminal punishment -- Appendix A. Note on research methods -- Appendix B. Note on statistical methods -- Appendix C. Sample letter soliciting data from state correctional department -- Appendix D. State population data table -- Appendix E: Letters from five youth offenders serving life wtihout parole sentences in the United States.