Making Sense in Juvenile Sentencing

Research has shown that brain development influences adolescent crime, one of the reasons the state Sentencing Commission is considering a ban on sentencing juveniles to long stretches in prison with no chance of parole.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut has weighed in with written testimony, submitted for a Nov. 29 commission hearing, in support of a proposal to require that people under the age of 18 be eligible for parole at some point in their sentences, depending on the length of the sentence.

Sentence modification is especially important for juveniles because adolescents' brains are not fully developed, making them more susceptible to adult influence and peer pressure to commit crimes, wrote David McGuire, staff attorney for the ACLU of Connection. In addition, adolescents are less capable than adults of recognizing the consequences of their actions. As they mature, those who were imprisoned as adolescents may not pose the same level of threat to the public as adult criminals.

"The Commission's proposal acknowledges the great potential for adolescents to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society," McGuire wrote.

Another disturbing facet of long sentences for juveniles is the racial disparities in how they are imposed. Although 71 percent of the state population is white, only 12 percent of the juveniles serving sentences of more than 10 years and 8 percent of those serving more than 50 years are white. The rest are African American and Latino.

McGuire also noted that the state legislature must modify its juvenile sentencing practices to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling in Miller v. Alabama, which held that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for those under age 18 violate the Eight Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

"The Commission's proposal is important because it will encourage the Connecticut General Assembly to pass legislation that will bring Connecticut into compliance with the law and give all juvenile offenders serving lengthy sentences the chance to show they have matured, repented and changed their ways," McGuire wrote.