The End of Mandatory Juvenile Life without Parole
Criminal Justice Policy Review Published in 2013
By: Megan Kennedy
Reviewed by:
Cajetan Ihe
Doctoral Student
Department of Administration of Justice
Professor: Dr. Helen Taylor Greene
September 28, 2015
Descriptive Summary This article, authored by Kennedy (2013) considered a number of factors which informed the decisions of the United States Supreme court in ending the law that stipulated mandatory life without parole for juveniles; with special emphasis on the case of Miller v. Alabama (2012). These factors include the immediate or remote fate of about 2,000 juvenile inmates that are currently serving a mandatory life without parole sentences. Secondly, the author factored…show more content… When an individual commits murder, certainly many trust that retribution should be demanded in the form of either a death sentence or a sentence that ends the likelihood of a free life for the criminal. As a consequence, the benefit extended, to a grieving family, may be the understanding that the criminal will never leave prison. In the case of many families of the victims, this sentiment or awareness was a reality that has been possibly stripped away with the court’s decision in Miller (Bronner, 2012). We must understand the look into the influence this ruling has on this population. King (2004) questioned 33 respondents to find out the feelings of individuals who underwent the loss of their loved ones to murder how they feel. The outcome according to (King, 2004, p.194) “These experiences includes a more severe, exaggerated, and complicated response to death”. This result from the fact “murder is a violation of everything one believes to be right, honestly fair, or expected in life” (King, 2004. P. 194). More so, based on these respondents that were interviewed, the frustration and hopelessness of the victims and their families were abundantly evident. In addition, the result of the study shows that the families of the murdered victims feel unprotected by criminal justice…show more content… (2007). End natural life sentences for juveniles. Criminology and public Policy,6, 735-746.
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