Summary
U. S. Supreme Court cases challenging state laws which allow states to sentence repeat juvenile offenders who commit violent crimes before their 18th birthday to life without possibility of parole (LWOP). Joe Sullivan had already been convicted of 17 crimes, including several felonies when, at the age of 13, he robbed and brutally raped an elderly woman. One month prior to his 18th birthday, Terrance Graham, who was on parole for robbery and assault, was convicted of an armed home-invasion robbery. Following his arrest, he admitted to four additional robberies. In the Supreme Court, Graham and Sullivan argue that the LWOP sentences they received constitute cruel and unusual punishment. At least 15 organizations, including the NAACP and Amnesty International, have filed briefs asking the Court to prohibit states from allowing an LWOP sentence for their worst juvenile criminals, at least in nonhomicide cases. CJLF joined the case to argue that the Constitution has left decisions regarding the sentencing of criminals to the states and that the public has the right to protect itself from violent, repeat offenders regardless of their age. In the Graham case, a bare majority of five Justices created a new rule exempting anyone under 18 from a life-without-parole sentence for a crime other than homicide. The Court dismissed the Sullivan case without explanation, a disposition possibly based on CJLF's argument that the Court had no jurisdiction to hear the case. [CJLF brief in PDF.]
