FALSE HOPE

PERCENT OF PEOPLE
SERVING JLWOP WHO
ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR
TX
100%
NC
88%
These disparities are prevalent among juvenile offenders
serving life without parole and among young offenders serving
other excessive sentences—including life with parole.
PA
80%
IL
78%
Source: The Phillips Black Project, No Hope: Re-Examining Lifetime
Sentences for Juveniles (2015)
percent of whom are Black) serving sentences of 40 to 50
years for crimes committed as juveniles. 127
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections,
as of June 2015, 86 juvenile offenders were serving sentences
of 50 years or more (79.1 percent of whom were Black), and
another 73 were serving sentences of 40 to 50 years (79.5
percent of whom were Black). A further 2,616 individuals
who were 18 to 25 at the time of their offense were serving life
sentences in Pennsylvania as of June 2015. 128 An additional
690 individuals in that age range were serving sentences of
40 to 50 years, 67 percent of whom were Black, and 665 were
serving sentences of 50 years or more, 73 percent of whom
were Black.
In Illinois, of the 80 individuals serving a life sentence with
parole eligibility for an offense committed as a juvenile,
70 percent are Black, whereas 17.5 percent are white and
12.5 percent are Latino. 129 Of the 283 individuals serving
a sentence of 50 years or more for an offense committed
as a juvenile, 69 percent are Black, 20 percent are Latino,
and 12 percent are white. 130 Of the 167 individuals serving
a sentence of 40 to 50 years for an offense committed as a
juvenile, 68 percent are Black, 20 percent are Latino, and 8
percent are white. 131
C. YOUTH AND LONG SENTENCES
IN THE UNITED STATES
Youth who come into contact with the criminal justice
system are not protected from its harshest punishments.
To the contrary, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s, many
judges, prosecutors, and legislators were convinced that
young people were the most dangerous criminals—“superpredators”—and
that their crimes at a young age indicated
irredeemable depravity. 134 Two decades of research by
sociologists, criminologists, psychologists, and neurologists
has now debunked this theory, showing instead that very few
Research has debunked the
“superpredator” myth and
shown that most youth age
out of crime.
people who commit offenses in their youth continue to participate
in serious criminal conduct as they get older. Instead,
they age out of this conduct, which is often a reflection of
their immaturity, lack of impulse control, and chaotic, even
traumatic, childhood experiences. 135 In recognition of the
fact that youth are different from adults in why they commit
crimes and what sanctions work, many countries around the
world now treat young people into their early 20s differently
from older adults in the criminal justice system, providing
more rehabilitative services, alternatives to incarceration,
and shorter prison terms. The United States, on the other
hand, remains the only country in the world that still sentences
children under the age of 18 to life without parole. 136
It also prosecutes and detains many more youth as adults to
grow up and die in prison.
1. Why Youth Should Be Treated Differently
In its core decisions on juvenile sentencing over the past
decade, the U.S. Supreme Court has relied on the growing
body of scientific studies illustrating that neurological development
continues into a person’s early or mid-20s. 137 Youth
has a particular impact on a person’s capacity for impulse
For example, in Connecticut, as of July 2015, 55 individuals
are serving sentences of 50 years or more for offenses
committed as juveniles; 61 percent of those individuals are
Black. 121 In New York, as of January 2016, 632 individuals
are serving life sentences for offenses committed between
the ages of 13 and 17. 122 Of the 78 individuals serving a life
sentence in New York who were 13 to 15 at the time of their
offense, 54 (69.2 percent) are Black, 14 (17.9 percent) are
Latino, and nine (11.5 percent) are white (the final person is
listed as other). 123 Of the 1,012 individuals serving life with
parole who were 16-18 at the time of their offense, 634 (62.6
percent) are Black, 250 (24.7 percent) are Latino, 110 (10.9
percent) are white, and 18 (1.8 percent) are listed as other or
“unknown.” 124
In South Carolina, 191 individuals are serving life sentences
for offenses committed under age 18; of those individuals,
138 (72.3 percent) are Black. 125 Beyond life sentences in
South Carolina, 23 individuals are serving sentences of 50
years or more for crimes committed as juveniles; 96 percent
are Black. 126 South Carolina also has 58 individuals (76
As of August 2015, the Georgia Department of Corrections
housed 779 people serving life with parole who were under
18 at the time of their offense, 80 percent of whom are Black.
Beyond those serving life, 38 individuals who were juveniles
at the time of their offense were serving sentences of 50 years
or more, 74 percent of whom are Black; 75 were serving
sentences of 40-49 years, 74 percent of whom are Black. 132
And in Arkansas, as of February 2016, of the 106 individuals
serving life sentences for offenses committed as juveniles,
over 63 percent are Black. 133 An additional 33 individuals are
serving sentences of 40-49 years for offenses committed as
juveniles, 79 percent of whom are Black, and 167 individuals
are serving sentences of 50 or more years for crimes committed
as juveniles, 68 percent of whom are Black.
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24 AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FALSE HOPE: HOW PAROLE SYSTEMS FAIL YOUTH SERVING EXTREME SENTENCES
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