Women without parole
July 8, 2017 3:03 AM Subscribe
"I have no sentence at all now—I was waiting for resentencing for a sentence. None of it makes any sense.” (SL: The Nation. Warning: article contains descriptions of violence, abuse, and rape).
Nineteen states have eliminated mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles entirely and hundreds of people have been resentenced to lesser terms since, but most have been unsure of their rights. While the Supreme Court decisions eliminating life without parole for juveniles have been hailed as victories of criminal-justice reform, some states are dragging their heels when it comes to giving juvenile lifers their day in court.
Miller v. Alabama (2012) established that indiscriminately sentencing people under 18 to die in prison is unconstitutional. Montgomery v. Louisiana (2016) requires the Miller decision to be applied retroactively. These decisions establish that resentencing must take into account the fact that juveniles are inherently less culpable than adults due to brain-development patterns and their potential to be rehabilitated. In these cases, advocates successfully proved that teenagers sentenced to life in prison weren’t the irredeemable “superpredators” that they were made out to be in the 1980s and ’90s, when most of these individuals were sentenced—and that they didn’t deserve to die in prison.
Miller v. Alabama (2012) established that indiscriminately sentencing people under 18 to die in prison is unconstitutional. Montgomery v. Louisiana (2016) requires the Miller decision to be applied retroactively. These decisions establish that resentencing must take into account the fact that juveniles are inherently less culpable than adults due to brain-development patterns and their potential to be rehabilitated. In these cases, advocates successfully proved that teenagers sentenced to life in prison weren’t the irredeemable “superpredators” that they were made out to be in the 1980s and ’90s, when most of these individuals were sentenced—and that they didn’t deserve to die in prison.
And it's not as if 18 is the only age enshrined in law. You have to be 21 to drink. And 35 to be president! (But some people aren't ready to be president even at twice that age.)
posted by madcaptenor at 5:53 AM on July 8, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by madcaptenor at 5:53 AM on July 8, 2017 [3 favorites]
You have to be 25 to rent a car because prior to that companies think you're an immature git.
posted by Talez at 5:54 AM on July 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Talez at 5:54 AM on July 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
And 30 to run for the Senate. And 55 to join AARP. (Okay, that's not a legal requirement.) And 67 to receive full Social Security benefits.
posted by Autumnheart at 6:36 AM on July 8, 2017
posted by Autumnheart at 6:36 AM on July 8, 2017
It's a mess BUT THANK GOD MANDATORY LIFE SENTENCES FOR JUVENILES ARE A THING OF THE PAST.
Major sentencing reform is not easy. It always leaves vast swaths of people who need resentencing. It's a pain for the courts, for the public defender offices, for the states attorney offices and it's terrible for the prisoners and their families. But it's necessary. When justice and law and society reach a point where we can no longer tolerate a practice because the evidence shows it is ineffective, or cruel, or arbitrary, we must eliminate that practice. And under some circumstance, we must remediate the impact of the practice.
It is still unequivocally the right thing to do: correct systemic sentencing errors.
The Unites States was one of the last nations to prohibit execution of juveniles. We did it--finally in 2005--in part because of the excellent work of neuroscientists who showed decisionmaking deficiencies in the nind's of people until they are well into their twenties. It was a fascinating and gut-wrenching movement in American criminal justice. I have friends who worked on it and it's how I got my current job (taking about it to opposing counsel in a banking case).
Our American notions of crime, punishment, appropriate sentencing, treatment of prisoners, and rehabilitation are very poorly constructed with ill-defined goals and little understanding of how you get a person from arrest to no longer causing harm to others, their communities, our society and themselves. This is a small demonstration that we're learning.
You may or may not have heard about the Chicago police deprtment and the consent decree for federal oversight and our idiot mayor's rejection of it. Different issue, different process, but a similar situation with regard to enforcement of reform and the coordination of moving parts. Re-sentincing these kids is not happening fast enough and enforcement mechanisms are lacking. It requires political will. political courage and the individuals in charge of system must do the right thing, though it overloads dockets temporarily and fails to satiate public blood lust as whipped up by "crimes".
Sorry. I'm all over the map here. This just gets my blood hot.
posted by crush at 7:54 AM on July 8, 2017 [7 favorites]
Major sentencing reform is not easy. It always leaves vast swaths of people who need resentencing. It's a pain for the courts, for the public defender offices, for the states attorney offices and it's terrible for the prisoners and their families. But it's necessary. When justice and law and society reach a point where we can no longer tolerate a practice because the evidence shows it is ineffective, or cruel, or arbitrary, we must eliminate that practice. And under some circumstance, we must remediate the impact of the practice.
It is still unequivocally the right thing to do: correct systemic sentencing errors.
The Unites States was one of the last nations to prohibit execution of juveniles. We did it--finally in 2005--in part because of the excellent work of neuroscientists who showed decisionmaking deficiencies in the nind's of people until they are well into their twenties. It was a fascinating and gut-wrenching movement in American criminal justice. I have friends who worked on it and it's how I got my current job (taking about it to opposing counsel in a banking case).
Our American notions of crime, punishment, appropriate sentencing, treatment of prisoners, and rehabilitation are very poorly constructed with ill-defined goals and little understanding of how you get a person from arrest to no longer causing harm to others, their communities, our society and themselves. This is a small demonstration that we're learning.
You may or may not have heard about the Chicago police deprtment and the consent decree for federal oversight and our idiot mayor's rejection of it. Different issue, different process, but a similar situation with regard to enforcement of reform and the coordination of moving parts. Re-sentincing these kids is not happening fast enough and enforcement mechanisms are lacking. It requires political will. political courage and the individuals in charge of system must do the right thing, though it overloads dockets temporarily and fails to satiate public blood lust as whipped up by "crimes".
Sorry. I'm all over the map here. This just gets my blood hot.
posted by crush at 7:54 AM on July 8, 2017 [7 favorites]
Does publicity like this help these specific women? Has there been movement on their cases or lawyers/groups offering help?
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 9:46 AM on July 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 9:46 AM on July 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
You have to be 25 to rent a car because prior to that companies think you're an immature git.
...something, something, at least 80% are when it comes to the wheeled penile extensions.
There are minumium ages for employment, see your particular state.
Our American notions of crime, punishment, appropriate sentencing, treatment of prisoners, and rehabilitation are very poorly constructed with ill-defined goals and little understanding of how you get a person from arrest to no longer causing harm to others, their communities, our society and themselves.
With regard to the FA, may I repeat this?
posted by BlueHorse at 12:17 PM on July 8, 2017
...something, something, at least 80% are when it comes to the wheeled penile extensions.
There are minumium ages for employment, see your particular state.
Our American notions of crime, punishment, appropriate sentencing, treatment of prisoners, and rehabilitation are very poorly constructed with ill-defined goals and little understanding of how you get a person from arrest to no longer causing harm to others, their communities, our society and themselves.
With regard to the FA, may I repeat this?
posted by BlueHorse at 12:17 PM on July 8, 2017
And 55 to join AARP.
Age 50 to join as a full member; you can join as an "associate member" (benefit access will vary) as early as age 18.
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:57 PM on July 8, 2017
Age 50 to join as a full member; you can join as an "associate member" (benefit access will vary) as early as age 18.
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:57 PM on July 8, 2017
"On another note, I wonder why we are so ready to believe that people under 18 can change and people over 18 can't."
If you ever need to troll a conservative Christian on prison/the death penalty, get them insisting that people don't change and/or shouldn't be forgiven, and then open your eyes real wide and say, "So you don't believe in the redemptive power of accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?"
(Either you think people can change and be forgiven, or you're not Christian, so I get a certain unholy joy out of trolling holier-than-thou "lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key!" sorts.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:48 PM on July 8, 2017 [17 favorites]
If you ever need to troll a conservative Christian on prison/the death penalty, get them insisting that people don't change and/or shouldn't be forgiven, and then open your eyes real wide and say, "So you don't believe in the redemptive power of accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?"
(Either you think people can change and be forgiven, or you're not Christian, so I get a certain unholy joy out of trolling holier-than-thou "lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key!" sorts.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:48 PM on July 8, 2017 [17 favorites]
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posted by Frowner at 5:37 AM on July 8, 2017 [10 favorites]