Between The Lines - Marc Mauer: Supreme Court Ruling on Life Sentences for Juveniles (Week Ending July 13, 2012)

Award-winning Investigative Journalist Robert Parry (1949-2018)

Award-winning investigative journalist and founder/editor of ConsortiumNews.com, Robert Parry has passed away. His ground-breaking work uncovering Reagan-era dirty wars in Central America and many other illegal and immoral policies conducted by successive administrations and U.S. intelligence agencies, stands as an inspiration to all in journalists working in the public interest.

Robert had been a regular guest on our Between The Lines and Counterpoint radio shows -- and many other progressive outlets across the U.S. over four decades.

His penetrating analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international conflicts will be sorely missed, and not easily replaced. His son Nat Parry writes a tribute to his father: Robert Parry’s Legacy and the Future of Consortiumnews.

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The Resistance Starts Now!

Between The Lines' coverage and resource compilation of the Resistance Movement

"The man who predicted Trump presidential win now says Trump impeachment could happen," AM Joy with Joy Reid, MSNBC, Jan. 21, 2018
"Sketchy Kazakh money finds its way into Trump dealings," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Red flags seen in many Trump real estate deals," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers," BuzzFeed, Jan. 12, 2018
"The Scandals of Donald Trump: Presidential Edition," The Atlantic, May 15, 2017
"Here's what we know so far about Team Trump's ties to Russian interests," Washington Post's ongoing compilation
"What Comey Was Investigating, Explained," The Moscow Project, Center for American Progress

"Donald Trump's Financial Ties to Russian Oligarchs and Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary from the Netherlands," Dutch TV documentary, Alternet.org, May 12, 2017
Ongoing compilation of Trump's creeping authoritarianism," MotherJones.com
Full resource list ...

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Lindsay Kanaly The panel discusses Trump's long history of racism and the Republican voter suppression juggernaut confronting Democrats leading up to the 2018 elections. Special guest: Lindsay Kanaly, a lead organizer of the Women's Marches planned for Jan. 20, 2018. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill on Resistance Roundtable, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT.

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Richard Wolff, Economics professor Richard Wolff declares U.S. capitalism to be beyond repair and suggests the need for a radical alternative. Interviewed by Richard Hill

SPECIAL REPORT: Maryn McKenna, author of "Big Chicken", Dec. 7, 2017

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SPECIAL REPORT: Nina Turner's address, Working Families Party Awards Banquet, Dec. 14, 2017

Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, talks about the fight ahead for progressives as she receives the Working Families Organization Award for Exceptional Leadership Towards Advancing Progress. The event was held in Meriden, CT. Produced by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Dec. 12, 2017

Working Families Party of CT talks strategy and issues for 2018.
Lindsay Farrell, executive director of the Working Families Party of Connecticut, discusses the state's electoral landscape and lays out the issues and strategies that could lead to progressive victories in 2018. Interviewed by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Dec. 9, 2017

Disturbing developments in the Trump/Republican Agenda
Focus on the tax bill, destruction of our public lands, North Korea and Trump's private CIA. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill. Special guest: Jo Macallero of Rise and Resist.

SPECIAL REPORT: On Tyranny - one year later, Nov. 28, 2017

Professor Timothy Snyder, author of the highly acclaimed resistance manual On Tyranny, discusses his book and offers a fresh assessment of the state of our beleaguered republic. Timothy Snyder, history professor at Yale, is introduced by Stanley Heller, administrator of Promoting Enduring Peace, a Connecticut-based organization that sponsored this event at the United Church Parish House in New Haven on Nov. 28. A brief interview with Snyder conducted by WPKN radio producer, Richard Hill, follows his talk.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Nov. 12, 2017

Lynne Ide, director of program and policy with the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, talks about the current state of health care coverage in Connecticut. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

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SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Two leaders from Redneck Revolt, an anti-racist, anti-capitalist movement, talk about their work organizing with white working class people in Suffolk County, New York. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

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2017 Gandhi Peace Awards

Promoting Enduring Peace presented its Gandhi Peace Award jointly to renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader and BDS founder Omar Barghouti on April 23, 2017.

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who helped make our 25th anniversary with Jeremy Scahill a success!

For those who missed the event, or were there and really wanted to fully absorb its import, here it is in video

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 1 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

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Between The Lines Presentation at the Left Forum 2016

"How Do We Build A Mass Movement to Reverse Runaway Inequality?" with Les Leopold, author of "Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice,"May 22, 2016, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, 860 11th Ave. (Between 58th and 59th), New York City. Between The Lines' Scott Harris and Richard Hill moderated this workshop. Listen to the audio/slideshows and more from this workshop.

Listen to audio of the plenary sessions from the weekend.

JEREMY SCAHILL: Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker "Dirty Wars"

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Supreme Court Ruling Bars Mandatory Life Sentences for Juveniles

RealAudio MP3

Posted July 4, 2012

Interview with Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

In another important ruling before its summer adjournment, the Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 that imposing mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for juveniles convicted of murder is unconstitutional. However, under the ruling, judges can still sentence juveniles to life without parole, but only on a case-by-case basis. The high court had abolished the death penalty for juveniles in 2005 and in 2010 had eliminated life without parole for juveniles for crimes not involving homicide.

Writing for SCOTUSblog.com, Lyle Denniston summarized the ruling: "What sentencing judges now must do, when a youth is convicted of murder that occurred before age 18, is to focus directly and only on that one individual in choosing a sentence. The judge must assess the specific age of that individual, examine that youth’s childhood and life experience, weigh the degree of responsibility the youth was capable of exercising, and assess that youth’s chances to become rehabilitated. Only if the judge then concludes that life without parole is a “proportional” penalty, given all of the factors that mitigate the youth’s guilt, can he impose such a sentence. The decision provided no specific guidelines, nor any clearly defined list of factors, that are to control that sentencing decision."

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, who assesses the ruling and where it places the United States in comparison with how other nations treat young offenders convicted of serious crimes.

MARC MAUER: This is a very significant decision. First, because it's a continuing recognition from the court that juveniles are different from adults, in line with the court's decision in 2005 finding the death penalty unconstitutional for juveniles, and the 2010 decision banning life without parole for non-homicide cases, and now the current cases which may apply to as many as 2,000 of the 2,500 juveniles currently serving these terms. So it's been a rather momentous shift in a relatively short period of time now.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Isn't one of the things underlying the court's new attitude toward juvenile offenders the fact that there's been a lot of research lately on brain development in teens and young adults?

MARC MAUER: One of the main factors leading to this re-evaluation of juvenile sentencing has been new research on brain development over the last decade or so. That's documented that juvenile brains are less developed; it's not until the early or mid-20s that the adult brain is fully formed. What this means is that juveniles exhibit less maturity, more impulsiveness, less ability to foresee the consequences of their actions. What this means in a sentencing context is yes, they're responsible for their actions, but if we look at maturity, culpability issues, there are very distinct differences between a 15-year-old's ability to foresee the consequences of his actions and a 30-year-old's to do the same.

BETWEEN THE LINES: When you say this Supreme Court decision could affect as many as 2,000 of the 2,500 people serving life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles, who are the prisoners in each of those categories?

MARC MAUER: The Supreme Court decision did not ban juvenile life without parole, but what the court did say is that the penalty can't be imposed in a mandatory way. Right now in many states, if a juvenile is tried in adult court and convicted of homicide, the judge has no option in sentencing, and has to impose mandatory life without parole. So what the court said is because they're juveniles; judges need to have discretion in considering what penalty to impose. They can look at the case and impose life without parole, but they have to have other options available to them as well. So the initial estimates are there may be as many as 2,000 of the 2,500 juveniles currently serving to life without parole who were sentenced under these mandatory provisions that have now been found to be unconstitutional.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Marc Mauer, it's amazing to think that just a few years ago this country was executing people whose crimes were committed when they were juveniles. Are there any other cases making their way to the Supreme Court that might further differentiate juvenile offenders from adults?

MARC MAUER: While I find this current decision very encouraging, it's important to put it in context also. The 2,500 juveniles serving life without parole in the U.S. is unimaginable by world standards. Research in recent years has not identified a single case anywhere in the world where a juvenile has been sentenced to life without parole, so there's clearly so much ground that needs to be covered. In the coming years, there may be additional cases being brought. One area of attention are so-called felony murder cases. These are ones where there may be two people involved in the robbery of a drug store. One goes in the store with a gun, the other is the getaway driver. Something goes bad, the gun goes off, the drug store owner is killed, and the getaway driver is charged as if he also committed the murder. Obviously, he's still culpable, but should he be responsible for the murder and be sentenced to juvenile life without parole? There's significant numbers of cases like this, currently serving these penalties. There's some litigation going on around these issues as well; whether they'll reach the Court in the near future, we don't know. But there are other avenues to address this question as well.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Do you know how many of those serving life with the possibility of parole were convicted as juveniles?

MARC MAUER: Right now, there are just under 7,000 juveniles serving some type of life sentence; of these, 2,500 serving life without parole, so there's about 4,500 around the country serving life with the possibility of parole. That varies quite a bit by state. It may be in some states you can be considered for parole after 15 or 20 years; in others, it's often unlikely you'd be considered before 40 or 50 years. So there are many cases, both for juveniles and adults, where life even with the possibility of parole, is not a very real option that many people would actually get out of prison, at least not before they're very elderly.

Visit The Sentencing Project's website at sentencingproject.org.

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