On June 25, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in the case of Miller v. Alabama, holding that the U.S. Constitution prohibits mandatory life-without-parole sentences for youth who committed their crimes under the age of 18, even if convicted of homicide. Finding that youth are entitled to “some meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation,” Miller marked the third time since 2005 that the Court has relied on the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment to strike down a juvenile sentencing practice.

Citation
Kelly Orians, One Year Later: State Level Response and Implementation of <em>Miller v. Alabama</em>, 32 Youth Law News (2013).
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