Juvenile Life Without Parole (H 5144, S 333)

While addressing the important problem of lengthy prison sentences for juveniles who are charged as adults, a weakened version of this policy ultimately passed within the FY 2022 budget.

While the original version of this critical legislation would have universally addressed the problem of lengthy prison sentences for juveniles who are charged as adults, a version of this bill ultimately passed in the FY 2022 budget with significantly weakened provisions. We testified in support of the original bill, which would have allowed juveniles sentenced in this manner to automatically come before the parole board after fifteen years, regardless of the length of their sentence. However, the version of this legislation which passed in the budget made a specific exception for juveniles who are given a life sentence without the possibility of parole, and would have lengthened the time from fifteen years to twenty years before an individual has eligibility to come before the parole board.