Life Sentences for Young Murderers Revisited by U.S. High Court
Source: Bloomberg
By Greg Stohr Dec 12, 2014 3:05 PM ET
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to clarify the reach of a 2012 ruling that bars states from imposing mandatory life-without-parole sentences on juveniles who are convicted of taking part in a murder.
The justices today said they will use a case from Louisiana to consider whether the 2012 decision applies retroactively to potentially hundreds of people.
The court will hear an appeal from George Toca, who was convicted of accidentally shooting his best friend during an attempted armed robbery in Louisiana in 1984.
Toca, who was 17 at the time, says that police arrested the wrong person and that he didn’t take part in the crime. Under Louisiana’s mandatory sentencing system, he was sentenced to life in prison without any consideration given to his age.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-12/life-sentences-for-young-murderers-revisited-by-u-s-high-court.html
Michigan too is refusing to apply the SC ruling retroactively...
