Monday, November 09, 2009
Joe Sullivan, convicted of rape 20 years ago when he was 13
Florida’s justice system is the toughest in the world when it comes to punishing juveniles who have committed violent crimes but stopped short of killing someone. Of the 109 juvenile prisoners worldwide serving life in prison without possibility of parole for non-homicide convictions, 77 are in Florida. The next highest total is 17 in Louisiana. Outside the United States, the total is zero.
These sentences could change, however, depending on a case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court will hear appeals this week from juvenile offenders Joe Sullivan, who raped a 72-year0old woman when he was 13, and Terrance Graham, who committed armed burglary at 16. Their attorneys will argue the life sentences they are serving violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Some legal experts point to a 2005 ruling as an indication the Supreme Court might rule in favor of Sullivan and Graham. That year the court ruled the death penalty cannot be applied to offenders under 18.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Weighing Life in Prison for Youths Who Didn’t Kill (by Adam Liptak, New York Times)
The Case Against Juvenile Life Without Parole: Good Policy and Good Law (by Kristin Henning, FindLaw)
Juvenile Life without Parole for Non-Homicide Offenses (Paolo G. Annino, David W. Rasmussen, Chelsea Boehme Rice, Florida State University) (PDF)
Comments