U.S. Supreme Court: Juvenile Lifers Get Chance For Sentence Reduction Or Parole Eligibility

Prison inmates who committed murder while juveniles have a chance to escape their mandatory sentence of life without possibility of parole. The U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision this week that Miller v. Alabama is retroactive, and so inmates convicted before that 2012 decision can now ask for a reduced sentence. Justices say states can offer parole eligibility to the affected inmates and avoid a new trial or sentence hearing. In South Dakota, only one inmate, Paul Dean Jensen, is affected.

For a 2013 Dakota Digest on legislation to address Miller v. Alabama, click on this link:

http://listen.sdpb.org/post/legislation-addresses-rare-occurrences#stream/0