{"id":3625,"date":"2024-01-11T21:22:06","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T21:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.restorejustice.org\/?page_id=3625"},"modified":"2025-02-06T11:16:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T16:16:20","slug":"juvenile-life-without-parole","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.restorejustice.org\/issues\/sentencing\/juvenile-life-without-parole\/","title":{"rendered":"Juvenile Life Without Parole"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Home<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p> <\/div>\n\n \n

\n \n Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)\n <\/h1>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n
\n \n \n \n \n\n READ ABOUT OUR BILL THAT ABOLISHED LWOP FOR EVERYONE 17 AND YOUNGER AND MOST 18- to 20-YEAR-OLDS IN ILLINOIS<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n
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What is JLWOP?<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

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JLWOP is when a judge sentences a child 17 years old or younger to life in prison without the chance of parole. This means a young person can spend their entire life in prison, and they will never have the chance to get out. This is wrong.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

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\n <\/path><\/path><\/g><\/svg> <\/div>\n \n \n A child under 18 years old<\/h3>\n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n <\/path><\/path><\/g><\/svg> <\/div>\n \n \n A sentence of life in prison<\/h3>\n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n <\/path><\/path><\/g><\/svg> <\/div>\n \n \n No possibility of parole<\/h3>\n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n
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Overview<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

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What is Miller v. Alabama<\/em> ?<\/h5>\n

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in <\/span>Miller v. Alabama<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0that mandatory JLWOP sentences were unconstitutional in the United States. The Court decided that the sentence was cruel and unusual punishment if judges had no choice and were required to give a life sentence because of mandatory minimums<\/a>. In 2015, the Court made the <\/span>Miller<\/span><\/i> decision retroactive in <\/span>Montgomery v. Louisiana<\/span><\/i><\/a>, meaning that the decision also applied to people already incarcerated. Discretionary, or optional, JLWOP sentences were not federally banned, though the Court stated that they should be uncommon and rare.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since 2012, many people who received JLWOP sentences before the court\u2019s ruling have had a chance to be resentenced. Because of the <\/span>Miller<\/span><\/i> decision, a judge must consider special criteria related to age, upbringing, and context surrounding the crime and rehabilitation \u2013 called the \u201c<\/span>Miller<\/span><\/i> factors<\/span><\/a>\u201d \u2013 in any sentencing hearing where a discretionary JLWOP sentence is on the table.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where can children be sentenced to life without parole?<\/h5>\n

Judges can still legally sentence children to die in prison in many states. Yet, there is growing support for the abolition of JLWOP across the U.S. Illinois was the 26th state to ban the practice<\/a>, and <\/span>the list is growing.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Even in states like Illinois where reform has been successful, the work is not done. The 2023 Illinois legislation, for instance, was not retroactive. This means that without additional reforms<\/a>, some young people sentenced or resentenced to discretionary life without parole before 2023 will not have an opportunity for release.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How many people have been sentenced to JLWOP in Illinois?<\/h5>\n

Before the Supreme Court’s 2012 Miller<\/em> decision, approximately 100 children in Illinois were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As of November 2023, nearly 70 have had resentencing hearings and just over 50 have been released from prison. At least seven people have been exonerated due to wrongful convictions.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

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\n \n\n Learn more about court cases affecting young people<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n
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\n The United States is the only country in the world that continues to sentence children to die in prison. Yet, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized that children are \u201ccategorically less culpable\u201d than adults.\n<\/h2>\n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/section>\n\n
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\n Why is it important to abolish JLWOP for everyone, everywhere?\n<\/h2>\n \n
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People deserve the chance to show that they have changed and developed.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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\n <\/path><\/path><\/path><\/path><\/g><\/svg> <\/div>\n \n \n Brain Science<\/h3>\n \n \n Science has shown that the brain continues to mature until the mid-20s. As a result, young people cannot be held to the same standards of responsibility as adults.\n <\/p>\n \n \n\n Read more about juvenile justice and the adolescent brain<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n \n
\n <\/path><\/svg> <\/div>\n \n \n International Law<\/h3>\n \n \n JLWOP sentences violate Article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that, \u201cNo child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \n\n Learn more about the Convention <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n \n
\n <\/path><\/path><\/path><\/path><\/g><\/svg> <\/div>\n \n \n Positive Impact<\/h3>\n \n \n People who once served JLWOP sentences are now making a difference in their communities as engaged citizens, volunteers, anti-violence activists, and advocates. Several members of the Restore Justice staff are former so-called \u201cjuvenile lifers.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \n\n Hear their stories<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n
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\n At Restore Justice, we recognize the importance of advocating for shorter, rehabilitative sentences for children and young people.\n<\/h2>\n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/section>\n
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\n Our work and JLWOP\n<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n
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OUR EFFORTS HAVE LED TO IMPORTANT CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM REFORMS<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

Public Act 100-1182<\/a> creates new parole opportunities for those 20 and younger coming into the system today with extreme sentences ahead of them. Thanks to this new law, no children 17 or younger can receive a life without parole sentence. The passage of this law made Illinois the 26th state in the U.S. to abolish juvenile life without parole and also ensures that most people 18-20 sentenced in the state going forward are parole-eligible.<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n \n \n

\n \n\n Read more about our legislative impact<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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WE ADVOCATE FOR FAIRNESS, HUMANITY, AND COMPASSION THROUGHOUT THE ILLINOIS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

A primary focus of our legislative work is retroactivity, which means making the current law in Public Act 100-1182<\/a> applicable to children sentenced to juvenile life without parole between 1978 and 2019. Retroactivity is important because it ensures that youthful parole opportunities are applied fairly and evenly and because these types of compassionate policies significantly reduce prison population.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n \n \n

\n \n\n Our current legislative agenda<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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WE ALSO WORK TO EXPAND THE ABOLITION OF LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE SENTENCES TO YOUNG ADULTS<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

The science is clear that neurological and emotional development affects how young people in their teens and 20s think and act, so it is important to expand the abolition of life without parole sentences to include young adults. This expansion will bring Illinois in line with most states that have already abolished life without parole sentences for young people.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n \n \n

\n \n\n Learn more about young adults<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n
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\n Storytelling Project\n <\/p>\n \n

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\n More Than A Conviction\n<\/h2>\n \n

In 2022, Restore Justice began a multi-year project to tell the stories of people who received life without parole sentences in Illinois as children. The project shares the insights and lived experiences of formerly and currently incarcerated people and their loved ones. The project also highlights the journeys of transformation and success of people who were formerly incarcerated. We hope that these stories help policymakers and the public understand the impacts of lengthy incarceration and of the Illinois legal system. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n

\n \n\n Read their stories<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/section>\n\n
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\n learn more\n<\/h2>\n \n <\/div>\n \n
\n \n \n \n \n criminal legal system stories<\/h3>\n \n \n Restore Justice is committed to sharing the stories of those impacted by the unjust laws in Illinois that we work to dismantle.\n <\/p>\n \n \n\n Read these stories<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n \n \n \n The issues around sentencing in illinois<\/h3>\n \n \n In Illinois, there are a number of sentencing laws that together create a system that regularly results in extremely long prison terms.\n <\/p>\n \n \n\n read more about sentencing reform<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n \n \n \n Interested in our work? <\/h3>\n \n \n Help us to change Illinois\u2019 cruel sentencing laws and prison conditions and to create new pathways for release for people already incarcerated.\n <\/p>\n \n \n\n Get Involved<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":473,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3625","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJuvenile Life Without Parole - 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