Supreme Court Rules on Juvenile Live Without Parole

Good Morning,
The ruling from the Supreme Court came down this morning on the constitutionality of Juvenile Life Without Parole for non-homicide offenders. The court has ruled that those serving these sentences can not be held for life, it is cruel and unusual punishment. As such, this is now not permissible.

The ramifications of that for those of us whose loved ones were murdered by Juveniles are none. The murderer's of our family members, can and will serve Life Without Parole, and are not included in this decision. All indications are that even criminals such as the 70+ impacted by this ruling will continue to serve long and just sentences.

I'd like to thank the Court for ruling on this in the manner that they did. The very thought of reliving my sister's murder or having to trudge back in to court on a regular basis for parole hearings is absolutely inconceivable to me at this point.

While I feel like the PA legislature will now move forward with their own bills on the subject, at least this chapter of the law is closed on the subject for now. If you listen you will hear me breathe a huge sigh of relief, and then transition to thoughts of how to approach the PA Legislature as a next step....

Take Care...