LWOP

If you had to sum up the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent history in cases related to juvenile offenders, one two-word phrase would suffice: What about…? 2007: What about juveniles sentenced to death?

Legislation in nearly one-third of states has passed since 2011 that prevent at least some juvenile offenders from involvement in the adult system, according to a report released today by the Campaign for Youth Justice (CFYJ).

When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 2010 that life without parole sentences for juveniles convicted of non-homicides violate the Eighth Amendment, it was pretty obvious that the high court had not heard its last oral arguments on the subject.

Researchers sent a survey about their childhoods to 2,309 inmates serving life without parole sentences for crimes they committed as juveniles. The Sentencing Project received 1,579 responses, and the findings suggested high rates of exposure to violence: Many of the inmates were first victims of domestic and sexual violence prior to committing crimes 79 percent of the respondents witnessed violence at home 50 percent experienced physical abuse 77 percent of female inmates reported being sexually abused 54 of the juvenile lifers witnessed acts of violence on at least a weekly basis Based on the statistics, the report states that these juvenile lifers were exposed to violence, which in turn influenced their decisions to commit serious crimes.