Life without parole unjust for under 21 Year olds...
Life without parole unjust for under 21 Year olds... According to the Supreme Court in Massachusetts sending under 21 year olds to prison for life without the possibility of parole is unjust. The State's highest court ruled that anyone under the age of 21 cannot be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, raising it from under 18. There was a 4-3 ruling in favour of the ban, describing life without parole sentences for those under 21 as cruel and unusual under the Massachusetts Constitution. At the centre of this case was the finding which confirms that the brains of emerging adults are similar to that of juveniles. In 2013 the court ruled that defendants under 18 could not be sentenced to life without parole based on the fact that "it is not possible to prove that a juvenile is irretrievably depraved," thus under these circumstances such a severe sentence is unjustified." This ruling took place in the Commonwealth V. Sheldon Mattis case, whi