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Policy Analysis Of Tennessee's 51-To-Life Law: Juvenile Sentencing Reform, Natalie P. Hurst

Honors Theses

In the state of Tennessee, juvenile offenders convicted as adults for first-degree murder must receive a minimum sentence of 51 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. Tennessee’s minimum juvenile sentencing guideline is the strictest in the United States. In 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that sentencing juvenile offenders to life is unconstitutional citing psychological evidence for a juvenile’s ability to be rehabilitated in comparison to adults (Miller v. Alabama, 2012). Tennessee’s 51-year minimum juvenile sentencing standard is a potential violation of this ruling because it has been shown that the life expectancy in prison …