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, which extends that finding up to the
age
of 21.
Mattis was aged 18, when in 2013 he was convicted of the murder of Jaivon Blake in 2011, the victim of a
shooting death. Mattis was sentenced to life without parole. His 17 year old co-defendant, was sentenced to
15 years.
As a result of the Massachusetts ruling, Mattis will appear in court for resentencing and to make his case in
front of the parole board., and will provide an opportunity for others to follow suit.
There are numerous examples of individuals being sentenced to a life without parole sentence;
Massachusetts
has over 1,000 such people.
I don't know the details of any of those in Massachusetts but do know about cases in Florida and Texas.
Jennifer Mee from Florida was only 19 when she was found guilty of first degree murder but honestly, the
The definition of what she had done is manslaughter or involuntary manslaughter as it would be called in
the US.
Jennifer was involved in a fatal mugging of a young man she agreed to go out on a date with. There was no
intent to kill on Jennifer's part and nothing in her trial suggests otherwise. Jennifer was not even in possession
of a firearm. She and her two male offenders all received a life without parole sentence. Is this kind of
sentence appropriate under the circumstances?
I don't think so.
Just recap; Jennifer was unarmed, had no intention of killing the victim, and was 19.
Her sentence of life without parole is out of proportion to the circumstances of this particular case with the
main factor being her lack of premeditation in the tragedy.
The Massachusetts ruling applies to Jennifer but the problem is she is in a Florida prison and it is just a
question of when Florida will change their system if they ever do so.
What do others think?
Emotions run high in cases such as this. People do not think rationally and comments such as "She deserves
to spend the rest of her life in prison" and "You do the crime you do the time," appears on social media.
If you would like to fill out the petition calling for a ban on life without parole for under 21 year olds then
click on the link at the bottom of this article or visit www.freejennifer.blogspot.com and you will find the
petition link there.
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