Opinion ID: 2278146
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: Life Without Parole is Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Text: Sentencing juvenile offenders to life without the possibility of parole is cruel and unusual punishment because society's standards have evolved to prohibit it. While Graham and Roper examined legislation and statistics about the commonality of such sentences, these are incomplete indicators of the broader question of whether society's standards have evolved, but they are helpful. See Graham, 130 S.Ct. at 2022; Roper, 543 U.S. at 572, 125 S.Ct. 1183. There are about 2,600 offenders currently serving life without parole for homicides committed while they were juveniles. [7] Seven states and the District of Columbia prohibit life without parole for juveniles, four states allow life without parole but do not impose it, and 40 states and the federal system actively sentence juveniles to life without parole. [8] Legislation does not seem to be indicative of a national consensus against life without parole for juveniles. The absence of legislation prohibiting a particular type of sentence, however, is not conclusive as to contemporary standards of decency. See Graham, 130 S.Ct. at 2022 (looking part legislation to actual sentencing practices); Roper, 543 U.S. at 572, 125 S.Ct. 1183 (looking past legislation to actual sentencing practices). Actual sentencing practices also can show evolving standards. Here, the statistics are inconclusive because of the lack of discretion in many states' sentencing laws. Sixteen states have a mandatory juvenile sentencing statute (meaning that if a juvenile commits certain crimes, he or she must serve a mandatory sentence of life without parole), and 25 states have discretionary life without parole sentences (meaning that the sentence is authorized by statute but courts have discretion regarding if and when they sentence a juvenile to life without parole). Because courts have been mandated by statute to impose life without parole in the majority of states where such a sentence is permitted, it is impossible to determine whether sentencing practices show that standards have evolved because, in practice, many courts have no discretion in this area of sentencing. [9] The average number of juveniles sentenced to life without parole, however, is significantly higher in states that mandate sentences of life without parole than states that allow courts to exercise discretion. The average number of juveniles sentenced to life without parole in states having mandatory such sentences is 82.36. This is significantly higher than the average number of juveniles sentenced to life without parole in states in which sentencing courts have discretion  13.19. These statistics, which are raw numbers and not percentages of those sentenced, illustrate that an evolving standard may be occurring but that mandatory sentencing schemes prevent effective analysis. [10] Society recognizes that juveniles are different, even without the specific statistics about sentencing. Missouri, for example, has enacted numerous laws that limit the privileges of a minor. See, e.g., section 115.133 (setting the minimum voting age at 18); section 302.060 (must be 16 to obtain a driving license); section 311.325 (setting the minimum drinking age at 21); [11] section 431.056 (regarding minors' capacity to enter into contracts); section 431.061 (must be 18 to consent to surgical or medical treatment); section 451.090 (must be 18 to enter into a marriage contract without parental consent); section 474.310 (must be 18 to make a will); and section 494.425 (must be 21 to serve on a jury). This legislation shows that society recognizes that, in a variety of situations, juveniles should be  and are  treated differently from adults.