Is life without parole cruel and unusual punishment for juvenile offenders convicted of non-homicide crimes?
Marc Mauer of the Sentencing Project and Kent Scheidegger of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation are debating this question today on Room for Debate. This morning, the Supreme Court hears arguments on the cases of Terrance Graham and Joe Sullivan, two prisoners in Florida who were sentenced to life without possibility of parole for crimes they committed as minors. In 2005, the court ruled that the Eighth Amendment’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishment” prohibited the execution of juvenile offenders. Does sentencing a teenager to die in prison for crimes in which no one was killed also violate the Eighth Amendment? Round 1 Proportionate Justice Marc Mauer is the executive director of the Sentencing Project and the author of “Race to Incarcerate.” The Sentencing Project submitted an amicus brief supporting the petitioners, Terrance Graham and Joe Sullivan. There are more than 1,700 people in the United States serving sentences of life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles.
