The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases of youth sentenced to life without parole this term.  Here’s an overview of the cases from the attorneys representing Kuntrell Jackson and Evan Miller at the Equal Justice Initiative.

“In Jackson v. Hobbs, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a death-in-prison sentence imposed on a 14-year-old who was convicted of an unintentional killing where he was not the triggerman. In Miller v. Alabama, an Alabama appeals court upheld a sentence of life imprisonment without parole imposed on a 14-year-old convicted of intentional murder. Both sentences were mandatory and did not permit any consideration of the juvenile’s age or adolescent status.”

The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth will be updating this space with helpful information and links that are related to the cases.

Resources

For more information about the cases you can go to the Equal Justice Initiative website and learn about Jackson v. Hobbs and Miller v. Alabama.

You can also view the Supreme Court’s calendar for March 2012 arguments or read the questions presented in each case:  Jackson v. Hobbs and Miller v. Alabama.

SCOTUSBlog has petitions for certiori and briefs from the opposition for both cases:  Jackson v. Hobbs and Miller v. Alabama.

Amicus briefs filed in support of the petitioners can be found on the Equal Justice Initiative site.

Notable Media

Los Angeles Times
Life without parole for young criminals–it’s too cruel
Editorial
November 9, 2011