Pennsylvania Teens Face Life Without Parole for Juvenile Crimes

Many juveniles in Pennsylvania are serving life without parole sentences.

2012-06-14

June 14, 2012 (Press-News.org) Throughout the United States, there are 79 people serving sentences of life without parole for crimes they committed when they were 14 years old or younger. Many have decried this practice, arguing that it is unjust to impose such harsh punishments on the acts of children, many of whose brains were not fully developed enough to appreciate the consequences of their actions.

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws allowing the death penalty as punishment for juvenile crimes and abolished life without parole for non-homicide juvenile offenses. However, in many states, life without parole is still a common punishment for crimes involving the death of another person, even in cases where death was unintentional or the juvenile was not the actual murderer.

In March, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case seeking to outlaw this practice. The suit was brought on behalf of two men who are serving life without parole for crimes committed at age 14. One participated in a robbery in which another person shot and killed a cashier. The other, in cooperation with an older friend, set fire to the trailer of a neighbor who had spent the evening getting the boys drunk and high on drugs.

The men's criminal appeals attorneys argued that imposing such a severe punishment for a youthful offense constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

The Court is expected to issue its opinion in the case later this year.

Pennsylvania Juvenile Crimes

In Pennsylvania prisons, there are more than 440 inmates serving sentences of life without parole for crimes committed at age 17 or younger. In fact, Pennsylvania has more juvenile offenders sentenced to life without parole than any other state in the country.

Approximately 60 percent of these inmates were sentenced to life without parole for first-time offenses. Although nearly all of the crimes involved some form of murder, many of the inmates did not actually commit the killing themselves. Instead, they were convicted of "felony murder," a crime that holds all conspirators guilty of murder when a person is killed during the commission of a crime.

Sadly, it is not rare for a juvenile to be sentenced to life without parole when another person kills someone in a drug deal, robbery or burglary gone wrong.

If you or a loved one is charged with a serious juvenile crime, it is important to have a skilled representative who can work to achieve a fair outcome. An experienced Pennsylvania juvenile law attorney can help protect you or your child's rights.

Article provided by Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg and Gifford, P.C.
Visit us at www.rgsglaw.com

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Researchers identify new group of proteins in the brains of Alzheimer's patients

2012-06-14

Wolozin's group also pursued the observation that some of the RNA binding proteins bind to tau protein, and tested whether one of these proteins, TIA-1, might contribute to the disease process. Previously, scientists have demonstrated that TIA-1 spontaneously aggregates in response to stress as a normal part of the stress response. Wolozin and his colleagues hypothesize that since TIA-1 binds tau, it might stimulate tau aggregation during the stress response. They introduced TIA-1 into neurons with tau protein, and subjected the neurons to stress. Consistent with their ...

The science of training and development in organizations: What really matters, what really works

2012-06-14

Each year in the United States about $135 billion is spent in training employees — but those billions do not always improve the workplace because the skills often do not transfer to the actual job. "Learning is a way of life in organizations," says Eduardo Salas, a psychological scientist from the University of Central Florida. "Everyone gets training. But what matters? What works? What influences learning and skill acquisition?" In a new report published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Salas and ...

Studies Raise Questions About Mammogram Frequency

2012-06-14

Although mammograms are often a life-saving tool for women, according to a study published the Annals of Internal Medicine, the frequency that women undergo these tests should be customized to each patient -- based on the woman's age, breast density and her family's history of breast cancer. Although the American Cancer Society suggests that women begin receiving annual mammograms at age 40, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Forces advises women to be screened every other year from age 50 to 74, John Schousboe of Park Nicollet Health Services in Minneapolis and his ...

New energy source for future medical implants: Sugar

2012-06-14

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- MIT engineers have developed a fuel cell that runs on the same sugar that powers human cells: glucose. This glucose fuel cell could be used to drive highly efficient brain implants of the future, which could help paralyzed patients move their arms and legs again. The fuel cell, described in the June 12 edition of the journal PLoS ONE, strips electrons from glucose molecules to create a small electric current. The researchers, led by Rahul Sarpeshkar, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, fabricated the fuel cell ...

Study finds Massachusetts health reform leads to increased inpatient surgical procedures

2012-06-14

(Boston) - Researchers from Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health (BUSM, BUSPH), along with the VA Boston Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School, have found inpatient medical procedures increased more among non-elderly, lower- and medium- income populations, Hispanics and whites, after health care reform went into effect in Massachusetts. The findings, which currently appear in Medical Care, suggest improved access to outpatient care for vulnerable subpopulations since health care reform took effect. The 2006 Massachusetts health reform implementation ...

Product Injury Reports Drop According To CPSC

2012-06-14

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC, reports that it received fewer reports of injuries from companies in 2011. It is unclear if this is due to an actual drop in injuries or because more companies are failing to report injuries involving their products. CBS News reports that 10 companies were fined more than $4 million in 2011, up substantially from the previous year's two companies. Companies tend to be less than enthusiastic when voluntarily reporting injuries, but the reports are required by law. Some companies may claim they did not report certain ...

Hysterectomy may lead to arterial stiffening in postmenopausal women

2012-06-14

AURORA, Colo. (June 13, 2012) – Estrogen-deficient, postmenopausal women who have had their uterus removed appear to have stiffer arteries compared to similar women who have not had a hysterectomy, according to new research from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The finding may help explain the greater risk of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in women, reported in previous research. "The message here is that having a hysterectomy may lead to large artery stiffening, which can lead to the development of cardiovascular disease," said Kerrie ...

North-East Passage soon free from ice again?

2012-06-14

North-East Passage soon free from ice again? Winter measurements show thin sea ice in the Laptev Sea, pointing to early and large-scale summer melt The North-East Passage, the sea route along the North coast of Russia, is expected to be free of ice early again this summer. The forecast was made by sea ice physicists of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association based on a series of measurement flights over the Laptev Sea, a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. Amongst experts the shelf sea is known as an "ice factory" of Arctic ...

Generic Drug Manufacturers Are Immune From Labeling Lawsuits

2012-06-14

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court held that people harmed by generic prescription drugs cannot sue generic manufacturers under the claim of inadequate warning labels. In PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing, the High Court dismissed the legal claims of two women who suffered physical injury because of the inadequate warning labels on their generic medication. While the Court ruled in 2009 that injured plaintiffs could bring state law claims against pharmaceutical companies for poor labeling on name-brand drugs, the PLIVA ruling bars similar suits against manufacturers of the generic ...

Sending sexually explicit photos by cell phone -- more common among teens than you might think

2012-06-14

A significant number of teenagers are sending and receiving sexually explicit cell phone photos, often with little, if any, awareness of the possible psychological, interpersonal, and sometimes legal consequences of doing so. Even many of those who believe there could be serious legal consequences are undeterred and still choose to engage in 'sexting'. These findings by Donald Strassberg, from the University of Utah (US), and colleagues are published online in Springer's journal Archives of Sexual Behavior. New communication technologies play an increasingly important ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of automated external defibrillators in private homes

University of Phoenix College of Social and Behavioral Sciences leadership publishes white paper on trauma-informed education

Identifying the best high-biomass sorghum hybrids based on biomass yield potential and feedstock quality affected by nitrogen fertility management under various environments