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Pennsylvania Examines Its Record On Teens In Prison For Life

By David Badertscher, PLL

<p><font size="2">Source: Crime & Justice News</font></p> <p><font size="2">"</font><font size="2">Pennsylvania is joining some other states in </font></p> <p><font size="2">considering whether there are ways to treat the worst </font></p> <p><font size="2">juvenile offenders rather than locking them up in adult </font></p> <p><font size="2">prisons for life, the Associated Press reports. State </font></p> <p><font size="2">Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Stewart </font></p> <p><font size="2">Greenleaf held a hearing yesterday on why </font></p> <p><font size="2">Pennsylvania, the sixth-most populous state, leads </font></p> <p><font size="2">the nation in the number of juveniles sent to prison for </font></p> <p><font size="2">life. "We're not asking that killers be set free," Robert </font></p> <p><font size="2">Schwartz of the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia </font></p> <p><font size="2">told AP. 'We're asking that every juvenile lifer be given </font></p> <p><font size="2">a second chance.'</font></p> <p><font size="2">Colorado has created a clemency board to hear </font></p> <p><font size="2">cases of juveniles convicted as adults. Other states </font></p> <p><font size="2">have considered raising the age teenagers are </font></p> <p><font size="2">prosecuted as adults in light of research that indicates </font></p> <p><font size="2">teens can't control their impulses. Connecticut will </font></p> <p><font size="2">raise its age from 16 to 18 in 2010. Lawmakers in </font></p> <p><font size="2">Illinois, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York and </font></p> <p><font size="2">North Carolina debated legislation to raise their ages </font></p> <p><font size="2">in the past two years, but the measures all failed. </font></p> <p><font size="2">Pennsylvania has 350 inmates who entered prison </font></p> <p><font size="2">under the age of 17."</font></p> <p><font size="2">Associated Press/Washington Post - <u><font color="#0000ff">http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001eptxlA2CbD6hRBmwEHvLUdD4Pe6trC_qF6-Eh_Q-RAkp-RTzR1Q9tGiWw_xT9TM1Eh9ZUgZLqIoYrzSx8YflIblQtd2QKYclxzVnu_C_vDwaZWSjLeUdmzAuUEjJsnYrtAzVop90jBWz2iw2WyXt29SmVzm7_BztuMsjgKs3r-HH5V7kiBgeoQi2fICkgAECDHbnoY6lpq9XHat_Hg7gbg==</font></u></font><font size="2"> </font></p>

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on September 24, 2008 (boomark / email).