Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Law
Jones V. Mississippi And The Court’S Quiet Burial Of The Miller Trilogy, Cara H. Drinan
Jones V. Mississippi And The Court’S Quiet Burial Of The Miller Trilogy, Cara H. Drinan
Scholarly Articles
In addition to its status as the world's largest jailer, the United States is an extreme outlier in its juvenile justice and sentencing practices. As recently as 2005, the United States permitted juvenile execution, and today the United States is the only nation that allows children to be sentenced to life without parole. In the last fifteen years, in a series of cases known as the Miller trilogy, the Supreme Court had been slowly chipping away at the nation's use of the most extreme juvenile sentences-the death penalty and life without parole. That process came to an abrupt end this …
Cruel And Unusual Youth Confinement, Cara H. Drinan
Cruel And Unusual Youth Confinement, Cara H. Drinan
Scholarly Articles
In a series of cases known as the Miller trilogy, the Supreme Court recognized that children are both less culpable and more amenable to rehabilitation than adults, and that those differences must be considered at sentencing. Relying on the principle that kids are different for constitutional purposes, the Court abolished capital punishment for minors and significantly limited the extent to which minors can be subject to life-without-parole ("LWOP') terms. Equally important, the Miller trilogy was predicated on the concept of inherent human dignity, and it recognized the youthful prisoner's need for "hope" and "reconciliation with society." While scholars have grappled …