167 Illinois Prisoners Serving Life Sentences for Crimes Committed as Juveniles

Courts and legislatures nationwide are struggling with how far to extend the logic of the Supreme Court decision that mandatory life sentences without parole amount to cruel and unusual punishment because youthful offenders’ brains are not fully developed, and therefore those defendants are both less culpable and more likely to reform as they age.

“Getting rid of formal life without parole was the tip of the iceberg,” said Marsha Levick, deputy director and chief counsel for the Pennsylvania-based Juvenile Law Center, which has advocated for lesser sentences for juveniles convicted of crimes.