California has sentenced more juveniles to life in prison without possibility of parole than any state in the nation except Pennsylvania, according to a new study by the University of San Francisco's Center for Law and Global Justice. California currently has 227 inmates serving such sentences for crimes committed before they turned 18; Pennsylvania has 433.
The study, titled "Sentencing Children to Die in Prison," also found that the United States has far more juveniles serving life terms than any other country -- 2,387 at present -- with Israel running a distant second at 7. Israel, the only other country that imprisons juveniles for life, according to the study, has not issued such a sentence since 2004.
In the United States, life terms have fallen disproportionately on youths of color, with black juveniles 10 times more likely than white juveniles to be given a life without parole sentence, the report found. In California, black juveniles are 20 times more likely to receive such sentences.
"For many children, [life without parole] is an effective death sentence carried out by the state slowly over a long period of time," said Michelle Leighton, chief author of the study. The report found that 51% of juveniles sentenced to life without parole are first-time offenders.
The federal government and 44 states permit life sentences without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders. "Among those states, 13 allow sentencing a child of any age to [life without parole] and one sets the bar at 8 years or older," the study said.
The report asserts that "harsh sentences dispensed in adult courts do not take into account the lessened culpability of juvenile offenders, their ineptness at navigating the criminal justice system or their potential for rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Psychologically and neurologically, children cannot be expected to have achieved the same level of mental development as an adult, even when they become teenagers."
Intensified advocacy on the issue has come in the wake of a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Roper vs. Simmons, in which the high court held that the Constitution prohibits executing an individual for committing murder if he or she was under the age of 18 at the time.
In California, state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), a child psychologist, has introduced a bill that would modify the state's sentencing laws. SB 999, known as the California Juvenile Life Without Parole Reform Act, would allow for juvenile life sentences but amend the penal code so that such inmates would be able to apply for parole after serving 25 years.
