PETITION IN SUPPORT OF HR2289 - ENDING JUVENILE LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE
The United States is the only nation on earth that sentences its children to life without parole (LWOP). We have over 2500 children sentenced to die in prison, including some as young as 13. Children are NOT adults. All studies show that teen brains are not fully developed, and that they do not have the maturity to always make rational, reasoned decisions. The United States Supreme Court stated that children should not be held to the same level of culpability as adults.
HR2289 would give children sentenced to life the opportunity for parole once in 15 years.
We support HR2289.HR 2289 IH
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2289
To establish a meaningful opportunity for parole or similar release for child offenders sentenced to life in prison, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself and Mr. CONYERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the ‘Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
(2) While writing for the majority in Roper v. Simmons (125 S. Ct. 1183), a recent Supreme Court decision abolishing use of the death penalty for juveniles, Justice Kennedy declared such differences to be ‘marked and well understood’.
(3) Notwithstanding such edicts, many youth are being sentenced in a manner that has typically been reserved for adults. These sentences include a term of imprisonment of life without the possibility of parole.
(4) The decision to sentence youthful offenders to life without parole is an issue of growing national concern.
(8) Sixteen percent of these individuals were age 15 or younger when they committed their crimes.
(1) REQUIREMENTS- For each fiscal year after the expiration of the period specified in subsection (d)(1), each State shall have in effect laws and policies under which each child offender who is serving a life sentence receives, not less than once during the first 15 years of incarceration, and not less than once every 3 years of incarceration thereafter, a meaningful opportunity for parole or other form of supervised release. This provision shall in no way be construed to limit the access of child offenders to other programs and appeals which they were rightly due prior to the enactment of this Act.
(2) REGULATIONS- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall issue guidelines and regulations to interpret and implement this section.
(b) Definition- In this section and section 4, the term ‘child offender who is serving a life sentence’ means an individual who--
(2) is sentenced, for such an offense or offenses, to a term of imprisonment of life, or of any number of years exceeding 15 years, cumulatively.
(c) Applicability- This section shall apply to individuals sentenced before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(1) COMPLIANCE DATE- Each State shall have not more than 3 years from the date of enactment of this Act to be in compliance with this section, except that the Attorney General may grant a 2-year extension to a State that is making a good faith effort to comply with this section.
42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), whether characterized as the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program or otherwise.(3) REALLOCATION- Amounts not allocated under a program referred to in paragraph (2) to a State for failure to be in compliance with this section shall be reallocated under that program to States that are in compliance with this section.
Each State that has in effect laws and policies in accordance with the requirements of section 3 shall, not later than 1 year after the date of compliance with such section--
(B) the name and contact information of the office, agency, or other entity that may be contacted for additional information about such laws and policies, including the application of such laws and policies to a child offender who is serving a life sentence, by a victim who was directly and proximately harmed as a result of an offense described in section 3(b) that was committed by such a child offender; and
(2) provide procedures whereby a victim who was directly and proximately harmed as a result of an offense described in section 3(b) that was committed by a child offender who is serving a life sentence may, upon request, receive information about the specific opportunities for parole or supervised release to be provided to such child offender in accordance with such laws and policies, including dates of parole or supervised release hearings and notice of decisions granting or denying parole or supervised release.
Section 3624 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--‘(g) Opportunity for Release for Child Offenders Serving a Life Sentence- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Attorney General shall establish and implement a system of opportunity for release that will apply to child offenders who are serving a life sentence (as defined in section 3 of the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009) for Federal offenses. The system shall conform as nearly as practicable to the laws and policies required of a State under section 3(a) of such Act and shall include provision for the same or similar notice to victims as States are required to provide under section 4 of such Act. The system shall be in addition to any other method of release that might apply to such an offender.’.
SEC. 6. GRANTS TO IMPROVE LEGAL REPRESENTATION OF CHILDREN FACING OR SERVING LIFE IN PRISON.
(1) are charged with committing an offense, before the individual attained the age of 18, that is subject to a sentence that may include a term of imprisonment of life, or the functional equivalent in years or more; or
(b) Legal Representation- In this section, the term ‘legal representation’ means legal counsel and investigative, expert, and other services necessary for competent representation.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary.
The United States is the only nation on earth that sentences its children to life without parole (LWOP). We have over 2500 children sentenced to die in prison, including some as young as 13. Children are NOT adults. All studies show that teen brains are not fully developed, and that they do not have the maturity to always make rational, reasoned decisions. The United States Supreme Court stated that children should not be held to the same level of culpability as adults.
HR2289 would give children sentenced to life the opportunity for parole once in 15 years.
We support HR2289.HR 2289 IH
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2289
To establish a meaningful opportunity for parole or similar release for child offenders sentenced to life in prison, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself and Mr. CONYERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the ‘Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
(2) While writing for the majority in Roper v. Simmons (125 S. Ct. 1183), a recent Supreme Court decision abolishing use of the death penalty for juveniles, Justice Kennedy declared such differences to be ‘marked and well understood’.
(3) Notwithstanding such edicts, many youth are being sentenced in a manner that has typically been reserved for adults. These sentences include a term of imprisonment of life without the possibility of parole.
(4) The decision to sentence youthful offenders to life without parole is an issue of growing national concern.
(8) Sixteen percent of these individuals were age 15 or younger when they committed their crimes.
(1) REQUIREMENTS- For each fiscal year after the expiration of the period specified in subsection (d)(1), each State shall have in effect laws and policies under which each child offender who is serving a life sentence receives, not less than once during the first 15 years of incarceration, and not less than once every 3 years of incarceration thereafter, a meaningful opportunity for parole or other form of supervised release. This provision shall in no way be construed to limit the access of child offenders to other programs and appeals which they were rightly due prior to the enactment of this Act.
(2) REGULATIONS- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall issue guidelines and regulations to interpret and implement this section.
(b) Definition- In this section and section 4, the term ‘child offender who is serving a life sentence’ means an individual who--
(2) is sentenced, for such an offense or offenses, to a term of imprisonment of life, or of any number of years exceeding 15 years, cumulatively.
(c) Applicability- This section shall apply to individuals sentenced before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(1) COMPLIANCE DATE- Each State shall have not more than 3 years from the date of enactment of this Act to be in compliance with this section, except that the Attorney General may grant a 2-year extension to a State that is making a good faith effort to comply with this section.
42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), whether characterized as the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program or otherwise.(3) REALLOCATION- Amounts not allocated under a program referred to in paragraph (2) to a State for failure to be in compliance with this section shall be reallocated under that program to States that are in compliance with this section.
Each State that has in effect laws and policies in accordance with the requirements of section 3 shall, not later than 1 year after the date of compliance with such section--
(B) the name and contact information of the office, agency, or other entity that may be contacted for additional information about such laws and policies, including the application of such laws and policies to a child offender who is serving a life sentence, by a victim who was directly and proximately harmed as a result of an offense described in section 3(b) that was committed by such a child offender; and
(2) provide procedures whereby a victim who was directly and proximately harmed as a result of an offense described in section 3(b) that was committed by a child offender who is serving a life sentence may, upon request, receive information about the specific opportunities for parole or supervised release to be provided to such child offender in accordance with such laws and policies, including dates of parole or supervised release hearings and notice of decisions granting or denying parole or supervised release.
Section 3624 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--‘(g) Opportunity for Release for Child Offenders Serving a Life Sentence- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Attorney General shall establish and implement a system of opportunity for release that will apply to child offenders who are serving a life sentence (as defined in section 3 of the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009) for Federal offenses. The system shall conform as nearly as practicable to the laws and policies required of a State under section 3(a) of such Act and shall include provision for the same or similar notice to victims as States are required to provide under section 4 of such Act. The system shall be in addition to any other method of release that might apply to such an offender.’.
SEC. 6. GRANTS TO IMPROVE LEGAL REPRESENTATION OF CHILDREN FACING OR SERVING LIFE IN PRISON.
(1) are charged with committing an offense, before the individual attained the age of 18, that is subject to a sentence that may include a term of imprisonment of life, or the functional equivalent in years or more; or
(b) Legal Representation- In this section, the term ‘legal representation’ means legal counsel and investigative, expert, and other services necessary for competent representation.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary.
Dear Honorable Members of the Sub-Committee,
I encourage each of you to closely review and support this Bill which requires states to enact laws and adopt policies to grant child offenders who are under a life sentence a meaningful opportunity for parole at least once during their first 15 years of incarceration and at least once every three years thereafter. This law defines a child offender who is under a life sentence as an individual who is convicted of a criminal offense before attaining the age of 18 and sentenced to a term of natural life or its functional equivalent in years.
Honorable Members, in the United States children are prohibited from buying cigarettes, consuming alcohol, seeing certain movies unless in the presence of an adult, cannot serve on juries, cannot vote, cannot marry without parental consent, are not allowed to leave home and live alone, leave school, cannot make certain decisions relating to their medical treatment or education, cannot sign contracts, purchase firearms or be drafted in to military service.
They can, however, be sentenced to life in prison and its equivalent in years without the possibility of parole, a sentence reserved for those people in our society for whom there is considered to be no redemption. Do you agree that children are beyond redemption? Juvenile life without parole sentences ignore the very real scientific facts and social differences between children and adults, abandoning the concepts of redemption and second chances upon which this country was built. Psychoanalytical studies have shown that children lack the capacity to both understand and control their actions, which reduces culpability. The human brain does not reach its full capacity in the frontal cortex, the area of reasoning, until age 25.
The U. S. disproportionately sentences child offenders to LWOP. With an estimated 2,500 child offenders serving the sentence, and 42 of the 50 states and the federal government permitting the sentence, the U.S. is home to over 99% of youth serving the sentence in the world. 10 states set no minimum age and 12 states set a minimum of 10-13 years of age and 16% who receive this sentence are indeed of this young age. Of great concern are the tremendous racial disparities among the populations receiving the sentence. Finally, it is your responsibility as our leadership to be acutely aware of the unthinkable fact that adult prisons are especially harsh on juveniles. The suicide rate for juveniles in adult facilities is 8 times that of juveniles in detention facilities.
I honor Representatives Scott and Conyers for their courage in proposing HR 2289. I encourage you, Honorable Members of the Sub-Committee, to begin to do the hard work in discerning where justice truly lies concerning the youth of America. Please help HR 2289 on its way to the full House.
I feel that teens are our future. It is wrong for a kid 2 serve a life sentense. They should only be allowed to serve about 10 to 15 years and thats it. By then, i believe they will have learnt their lesson. Its time for a change. Let our youth have something to look torwards to.
this situation is a mark of shame on our democracy, and needs to be rectified. Neuroscience supports conclusively commonsense that a child is not fully developed. Many children in our country are growing in environments that are cruel, and were survival is often left to violent means.
Our kids act out when there are real problems that they cannot cope with. Educated adults should recognize these symptoms. How barbaric to pretend a child is an adult.
It's time to wake up people!!! What are we thinking..Oh I'm sorry we're not, are we? These are just kids they don't have feeling, they are the only ones that had made a mistake in this perfect WORLD>>>>> even our leaders and their family can lie,steal, cheat and yes that to.. do they even begin to do the time that our children are doing? I think not.Well I guess that's what happens when you are above the law.The masses will never and I repeat never get a fair chance. If we do then it's only a handful.
children make mistakes sometimes due to peer pressure and sometimes those mistakes turn out real bad they deserve a second chance
It is ludicrious to assume that kids... children are unable to be rehabed taking into account those circumstances that adults influencedon how they got there. Any case involving a minor should be reviewed and Parole should always be on the table as a a tool towards rehabilitation.
To whom it may concern, Being tough on crime and being smart on crime are not the same thing. I think these lawmakers that insist on being tough on crime just because they're afraid of being classified as weak are just like the foolish emperer and people in the stoty "The emperer's new clothes". In the story, it took a child to wake them up and make them see how foolish they were when they thought the emperer had new clothing on when in reality the emperor was naked. Ther is plenty of research that proves why juveniles should not be punished as adults. This doesn't mean they shouldn't be punished, but when a juveile is punished to life, they are given a bigger punishment that an adult being that they have that many more years to live than an adult has. I think it's time thatwe start getting smart on crimeand stop locking up our children for life.
Save our children! They are NOT adults!
i agree with this petition completly
i dont believe in life sentences without parole. We have adults commiting murders attempted murders,having sex with children and get out in less than 15 years. Why should a juvenile under the age of 16 commiting the same crimes end up with life withput parole. Our justice system is screwed up.Laws should apply to all states not individually.
We should do whatever is in our hands to stop this. There are many that fit into this category and have proved to deserve things to change, including my brother.
I was a Juvenile defendant, as a teenager I received a Life sentence, and to date, I have been Incarcerated fourteen years and five months, however hindsight informs me that under the proper circumstances, the proper system my mind could of been fundamentally led away from providing the United States with the Opportunity to exploit my cognitive and Volitional developmental tendencies, my childlike disposition. So I am intimately positive, despite the debate, that virtually all children will respond most effectively to rehabilitative efforts as opposed to retributive. I thank you for your time and attention….. Dante D. Cottingham 259241 Green Bay Correctional Institute P.O. Box 19033 Green Bay, WI 54307-9033 USA
As hideous were the crimes committed by Charles Manson and his followers he continues to have the opportunity to go before a parole board and I feel that our juveniles deserve the same opportunity.
I think this should be passed with carefully looking at each case and the circumstances of the case. Life without parole is a terrible price to pay because your young, when those who are older, do not receive the compared sentences!
I truly believe that to incarcerate a child for life without the possibility of parole is just rediculous. Example; Thirteen year old boy commits the crime that causes a sentence of life without parole isn't that the same as saying he new what he was doing so his punishment fits the crime. Then 13 yr.old promiscuos girl lies about her age and has sex with 18 yr. old boy. 18 yr. old goes to prison because the 13 yr.old is too young to know what she is consenting to. I truly don't get our laws and believe that there is a great need for reform. question; How can a 13 year boy be held accountable for knowing what he was doing but the 13 yr.old girl who wants to be promiscuos is to young to be held accountable.
If we are truly compassionate it is not feasible we lock away a teenager for the rest of his/her life. Not only is this an unkind act it costs far more money than rehabilitating a person. Please suspport this bill.
No child should have to spend the rest of their life in prison for something that they did when they were so young. We all make mistakes at that age. If someone killed my loved one and they were under 18, I would not want them sent away for life.
My brother was sentenced to LWOP at age 17 in Michigan. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. He has been in jail now for 18 years...over half his life. Its really sad. I'm 31 and look back at the stupid things I did when I was young, and could have probably made the same mistakes. I hope this bill can get passed and not just kicked to the side like the past. Sincerely, Dave Krause
Nicky Maniseng
TexasJuneBug here from JPAY Forums. I agree that we really need to take a closer look at the penal systems options for handling juvenile offenders. The best way to prevent repeat offenders and save tax payers dollars from LWOP sentenses is to utilize alternative penalties that include more treatment and rehabilitation opportunities for the offender. Lets show the world that we care for our future by caring for our juveniles.
I DONT AGREE WITH SENTENCING INMATES TO LIFE! HOW WOULD THE JUDGES LIKE THEIR OWN FAMILY BEING SENTENCED TO LIFE?
