Sentencing Minors to Life Without the Possibility of Parole

I don’t typically brief sentencing cases, and I’m not an expert by any means on juvenile law, so I’m kind of speaking out of school here.  But for those of you who have to deal with those little buggers, I thought you might be interested in the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest pronouncement on the rules for sentencing minors to life without the possibility of parole (“LWOP”) when tried in adult court and convicted of first degree murder.  First a little history:  In Miller v. Alabama (2012) 567 U. S. 460, the Supreme Court held that an individual who commits a homicide when he or she is under the age of 18 may be sentenced to life without parole.  However, recognizing that all but a small minority of juvenile offenders are permanently incorrigible, imposing an LWOP sentence on a juvenile is constitutional only if the sentence, under local statutes, is not mandatory, and only if the sentencer is given the discretion to impose a lesser punishment.  Montgomery v. Louisiana (2016) 577 U. S. 190, made the rule retroactive, at least when considered on collateral review (i.e., other than in a direct appeal from the conviction).  Now, within the last month, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Jones v. Mississippi (Apr. 22, 2021) __ U.S. __ [2021 U.S. LEXIS 2110; 2021 WL 1566605], where it was held that it is not required that the sentencing judge make an on-the-record factual finding—either explicitly or implicitly—of the defendant’s permanent incorrigibility before imposing a life-without-parole sentence.  In Jones, the sentencing judge did in fact make comments to the effect that he was aware of his discretion in sentencing the defendant to a lesser sentence before he imposed an LWOP sentence.  But the Jones Court notes only “‘that a sentencer follow a certain process—considering an offender’s youth and attendant characteristics—before imposing’ a life-without-parole sentence.”  (quoting Miller v. Alabama, supra, at p. 483.) It does not say that the court’s analysis has to be expressed on the record.  And ....

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