Martine WhiteCriminology 340Susan RushingMay 6, 2014Youth Life in Prison Without Parole Prior to recent amendments to the law, the United States had been one of the few countries in the world to allow the sentencing of juveniles life in prison without the possibility of parole. Only eight states in the United States do not allow life without parole for juveniles. They were Colorado, Kentucky, Alaska, Kansas, New Mexico, West Virginia, Maine, New York, and the District of Columbia. Many of these minors were committing crimes for the first time. There are also many more young African Americans sentenced to life in prison than whites. Studies show that a life without parole sentence for a juvenile is 10 times more likely for a black youth than for a white one (Arthur and Armstrong). In 2005 following the Roper v. Simmons the Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal to apply the death penalty to anyone under the age of 18 who committed a crime. Subsequently, in 2010 after the Graham v. Florida the United States Supreme Court ruled that sentencing a minor to life without parole for cases other than murder was illegal. They decided this because of the argument that life imprisonment for a juvenile violated the 8th Amendment, which states that “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” because life imprisonment for a minor it can be seen as cruel and unusual punishment (US Const. Amdt. 8). The remainder of this paper will explore the progression of this issue over the next few years. He will discuss the case Miller v. Alabama questioning whether life without parole for a juvenile convicted of murder was constitutional, and the implications of this case. He will also explain… halfway down the paper… noting that children should not be held to the same level of responsibility as adults. Scientific advances in understanding the brain show us that adolescent brains are simply not as developed as adult brains and are therefore not capable of making the same decisions. I agree with Delaware's decision on how to handle previous cases in which juveniles were sentenced to life without parole. I also think that everyone has the right to be reevaluated but after a significantly long sentence. People have the ability to change and reform. It is in our nature to learn from our mistakes. Changing, however, requires a lot of self-motivation and a desire to become a better person. So it is likely that even after being reevaluated, many inmates will still spend their entire lives in prison. However, we must give the few who want to improve the chance for freedom.