FALSE HOPE

FALSE HOPE
At America’s Expense:
The Mass Incarceration of the Elderly
HOW PAROLE SYSTEMS FAIL YOUTH SERVING EXTREME SENTENCES
© June 2016 2012 ACLU Foundation
American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street
New York, NY 10004
www.aclu.org
Cover image credit: Tim Gruber
Cover image: Raymond Thompson. Youth in a juvenile detention facility in Florida.
Back cover image: Jenn Ackerman
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................... 2
RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................................... 11
METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................................................................... 14
I. MASS INCARCERATION, EXTREME SENTENCES, AND HOW WE TREAT YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE U.S. CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM ................ 18
A. Long Sentences (Getting Longer) in the United States .......................................................................................... 18
B. Longer for Some: Racial Disparities in Sentencing .............................................................................................. 21
C. Youth and Long Sentences in the United States .................................................................................................... 25
1. Why Youth Should Be Treated Differently ......................................................................................................... 25
2. Youth in the U.S. Adult Courts and Prisons ...................................................................................................... 27
3. Youth in the U.S. Criminal Justice System: A Human Rights Outlier ................................................................ 30
II. THE POST-MILLER WORLD: STATE REFORMS FOR YOUNG OFFENDERS AND THE WORK THAT REMAINS ............................................. 31
A. The U.S. Supreme Court and Punishments for Youth: Roper Through Montgomery .............................................. 31
B. State Reforms for Youth in the Criminal Justice System—and Their Limits ......................................................... 32
C. The Post-Miller World: The Persistence of Long Sentences for Youth................................................................... 34
III. PAROLE: LEGAL BACKGROUND AND NATIONAL OVERVIEW OF A SYSTEM DESIGNED TO FAIL ......................................................... 38
A. Who Is the Parole Board?...................................................................................................................................... 39
B. Parole and/vs. Due Process .................................................................................................................................. 40
C. Parole as a Second Sentencing ............................................................................................................................. 41
D. Lack of Judicial Review / Independent Oversight .................................................................................................. 44
E. Parole Grant Rates ................................................................................................................................................ 45
F. Parole and Young Offenders .................................................................................................................................. 47
1. Youth-Specific Guidelines and Their Impact on Parole .................................................................................... 49
2. Youth as an Aggravating Factor ....................................................................................................................... 50
IV. PAROLE IN PRACTICE: HUGE DISCRETIONARY POWER, NO TRANSPARENCY, AND LIMITED RIGHTS ................................................ 52
A. Paltry Process with Significant Consequences ..................................................................................................... 52
1. Parole Review in the Absence of a Hearing ...................................................................................................... 52
2. Hostile Hearings .............................................................................................................................................. 55
3. No Legal Assistance ........................................................................................................................................ 59
B. A Closed System: The Lack of Transparency in the Parole Process ...................................................................... 59
1. Uncertainty About the Factors Considered in a Parole Decision ...................................................................... 60
2. Lack of Transparency in Parole Denial ............................................................................................................ 60
V. DENIED FOR THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE OFFENSE ............................................................................................................. 66
A. The Severity of the Crime: An Explicit, Required, and Deciding Factor ................................................................. 66
B. Where the Offense Rules, Parole Is Foreclosed .................................................................................................... 68
C. Challenges for Innocent Prisoners ....................................................................................................................... 75
VI. EXTERNAL IMPEDIMENTS TO PAROLE ........................................................................................................................... 79
A. Judicial Veto in Michigan....................................................................................................................................... 79
B. Governor Veto Power in Maryland, California, and Oklahoma ............................................................................... 83
VII. REHABILITATION: THE THWARTED PATH TO PAROLE ........................................................................................................ 85
A. Access to Programming for Youth Serving Long Sentences .................................................................................. 86
B. Reentry Planning and Assistance ......................................................................................................................... 90
C. Denied Rehabilitation and Now, Denied Parole ..................................................................................................... 95
VIII. COSTS OF DELAY .................................................................................................................................................. 99
A. Medical Parole: A Squandered Opportunity .......................................................................................................... 99
B. First In, Last Out: Young Prisoners Waiting for Geriatric Release ........................................................................102
IX. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW PERSPECTIVE ..................................................................................................... 106
A. Human Rights Law, Proportionality, and Extreme Sentences ..............................................................................106
B. Parole and the Meaningful Opportunity for Release ............................................................................................108
C. Rights of the Child in the Criminal Justice System ..............................................................................................109
D. Children, Courts, and Punishment ......................................................................................................................110
E. Children in Prison ................................................................................................................................................111
F. The Right to Rehabilitation ...................................................................................................................................112
X. SELECTED STORIES OF INDIVIDUALS SERVING EXTREME SENTENCES SINCE THEIR YOUTH, WAITING FOR RELEASE ON PAROLE ............ 116
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................................................158
APPENDIX A: FOR PRISONERS SERVING A LIFE SENTENCE, WHEN IS THE FIRST PAROLE REVIEW? STATE BY STATE .................................160
APPENDIX B: IF A PERSON IS DENIED PAROLE (DISCRETIONARY RELEASE), WHEN WILL THEY BE REVIEWED AGAIN? STATE BY STATE .........162
APPENDIX C: SAMPLE FOIA REQUEST ......................................................................................................................................165
ENDNOTES ........................................................................................................................................................................171