August 9, 2017 The Skanner Page 9
News
Court Ruling Off ers New Hope for Lifers Sentenced as Children
Lawyers applying last year’s court ruling on juvenile sentencing to those currently in prison
BALTIMORE — A U.S.
Supreme Court decision
triggering new sentenc-
es for inmates serving
mandatory life without
parole for crimes com-
mitted as juveniles has
had a far greater eff ect:
The ruling is prompting
lawyers to apply its fun-
damental logic — that it’s
cruel and unusual to lock
teens up for life — to a
larger population, those
whose sentences include
a parole provision but
who stand little chance
of getting out.
The court in January
2016 expanded its ban on
mandatory life without
parole for juveniles to
more than 2,000 off end-
ers already serving such
sentences, saying teens
should be treated diff er-
ently than adult off end-
ers because they’re less
mature, prone to manip-
ulation and capable of
change.
The court found that all
but the rare juvenile lif-
er whose crime refl ects
“permanent incorrigibil-
ity” should have a chance
to argue for freedom one
day, and dozens serving
mandatory terms have
since been resentenced
and released.
But legal challenges
are also being argued on
behalf of off enders sen-
tenced to life with parole
for crimes they commit-
ted as teens — a popula-
tion totaling some 7,300
inmates nationwide, ac-
AP PHOTO/JULIET LINDERMAN
Juliet Linderman
Associated Press
In this Dec. 28, 2016 photo, Robert Boyd holds high school and college diplomas he earned while
incarcerated, at his home in Baltimore. At 16, he was sentenced to life for his role in a home invasion
that turned deadly in Baltimore. Boyd was the lookout, standing watch on the porch. The man who fi red
the fatal shot was acquitted at trial. By the time Boyd was released, after 34 years behind bars, even
Brian Murphy, the prosecutor who tried the case in 1982, off ered to testify on his behalf. “It was not the
intention of anybody back then that guys like this wouldn’t get paroled,” Murphy said. “It doesn’t sound
fair or legal.”
cording to Ashley Nellis
at advocacy group The
Sentencing Project.
“Even states that do
have parole, it doesn’t
give a lot of reason for
hope,” Nellis said.
“The Supreme Court
was very clear to say
that age-related factors
need to be considered at
resentencing or parole
review, but the feedback
we’re seeing is that those
factors aren’t being con-
sidered.”
Other courts are ap-
plying the 2016 ruling
to those whose life-with-
out-parole
sentences
weren’t mandatory or
were negotiated as part
of a plea deal.
In Florida, more than
600 inmates are poten-
tially eligible for new
sentences because court
decisions there require a
new look at anyone serv-
ing life for crimes com-
mitted as minors — even
if their sentences were
optional or included the
possibility of parole.
The Supreme Court
has not ruled on these
other circumstances, but
some state courts have.
In January, New Jersey’s
Supreme Court ordered
new sentences for two
former teen off enders
with de facto life terms.
One was serving 110
years, with parole eligi-
bility aft er 55 years; the
other had 75 years, with
parole eligibility aft er
serving 68. The court
noted both defendants
would “likely serve more
time in jail than an adult
sentenced to actual life
without parole.”
The number of years
inmates must serve be-
fore parole eligibility
varies by off ense and
state: In Tennessee, a lif-
er must serve 51 years. In
Texas, 40.
Lifers could qualify for
a hearing aft er 10 years
in Michigan, but that
doesn’t mean they’ll get
one. In 44 states, parole
boards are appointed by
governors, and review
processes vary great-
ly. Some boards review
prisoner fi les without
in-person interviews.
Some states specify fac-
tors to consider; others
allow signifi cant discre-
tion.
If a prisoner is denied,
he’ll likely wait several
years for another chance
and sometimes isn’t told
why.
Chester Patterson, 63,
has been behind bars for
45 years in Michigan. At
17, he fatally shot a store
clerk during a robbery.
He got life with the pos-
sibility of parole aft er
10 years. Patterson has
earned degrees, com-
pleted a substance-abuse
program, worked in the
library, and avoided dis-
ciplinary tickets.
He’s also been denied
parole at least fi ve times,
according to records.
Each time, the board
sends a notice that says,
“no interest.”
He’s awaiting a deci-
sion aft er his most recent
hearing in April.
“I am not that same
17-year-old kid. I will
never commit another
crime again,” Patterson
wrote to The Associated
Press.
“I caused a terrible
tragedy for which I will
always be sorry and
shameful. What more
can I say to the family?
I have been here for al-
most a half of a century,
and the parole board is
still saying no.”
His case isn’t unique. In
Florida, a state Supreme
Court ruling last year
said that juvenile off end-
ers who were eligible for
parole must be resen-
tenced to ensure they
have a real opportunity
for release.
It involved the case of
Atwell, who got life with
the possibility of parole
aft er 25 years for a mur-
der he committed at 16.
When it came time for
Atwell to argue for his
freedom, the state calcu-
lated his presumptive re-
lease date as 2130 — 140
years aft er sentencing.
“While
technically
Atwell is parole eligible,
it is a virtual certainty
that Atwell will spend
the rest of his life in pris-
on,” the justices wrote,
and his sentence, “vir-
tually indistinguishable
from a sentence of life
without parole, is there-
fore unconstitutional.”
(Florida Department of
Corrections/Miami Her-
ald via AP)
The ruling came in the
case of Angelo Atwell,
who got life with the pos-
sibility of parole aft er 25
years for a murder he
committed in 1990 at age
16.
When it came time for
Atwell to argue for his
freedom, the state calcu-
lated his presumptive re-
lease date as 2130 — 140
years aft er sentencing.
“While
technically
Atwell is parole eligible,
it is a virtual certainty
that Atwell will spend the
rest of his life in prison,”
the justices wrote, and
his sentence, “virtually
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