What Is Fair Sentencing for Youth?

When children commit serious crimes, they must be held accountable. But their sentences
must also take into account their unique capacity for change and growth.
In December 2013, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that Massachusetts long-
standing practice of subjecting children to life without parole sentences was unconstitutional. In
doing so, the SJC joined a growing list of states around the country that have eliminated these
sentences for children. The SJC required judges to make individualized decisions about the cases
before them, and required that all young people have an opportunity to seek parole no earlier than
15 years into their sentence. There is no guarantee that they will ever be released.
The SJC decision establishes clear standards for the appropriate sentencing of youth, but there is
more work to be done. The Massachusetts Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Youth believes that
every child should have the chance to prove that they are worthy of reentering society. Accordingly,
our sentencing laws for young people should reflect the following principles:
Young people must be held accountable for their crimes in a way that
recognizes their capacity for change and growth.
Judges should have discretion to impose sentences that reflect both
the circumstances of the case and the individual young person.
Sentences should balance societys need to hold youth accountable with the need to give
young people a meaningful chance to become contributing members of society.
Given the enormous variety of circumstances involved in cases, it makes sense to establish
the lower range of parole eligibility at no later than 15 years into a sentence.
Our Juvenile Court system is the appropriate place to try cases involving youth under 18.
Young people must have the opportunity to present evidence at both sentencing and
subsequent reviews, including a right to counsel and to expert testimony.

When you throw a kid away without
giving him a chance ever again, you
dont know what kind of person you
threw away you dont know what good
you are throwing away.
Curtis D.
Serving Life without Parole
in Massachusetts

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) American Probation and Parole Association Amnesty International, USA Boy Scouts of America
Center for Public Representation Center for Teen Empowerment Childrens Law Center of Mass (CLCM) Childrens Defense Fund
Childrens League of Massachusetts Charles Houston Hamilton Institute Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ) Childrens Mental Health
Campaign (CMHC) Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators Dorchester Youth
Collaborative Human Rights Watch Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Louis D. Brown Peace Institute Mass Alliance for Families
(MAFF) Mass Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Mass Association of Court Appointed Attorneys (MACAA) Mass Bar
Association Mass Office of the Child Advocate Mass Psychological Association Mass PTA Mass Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Children (MSPCC) National Association of Social Workers, Mass (NASW) Parent/Professional Advocacy League (PPAL) Prisoners
Legal Services of Mass (PLS) ROCA, Inc. Roxbury Youthworks, Inc. Southern Poverty Law Center St. Dismas Committee The City
School The Home for Little Wanderers (the Home) The Real Cost of Prisons Project UU Mass Action Network United Teen Equity
Center (UTEC), Lowell United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society


Myths & Facts About Massachusetts Sentencing Practices for Youth

Myth: Judges only use this sentence in extreme situations.
Fact: Most of the individuals who are impacted by the recent SJC decision were subject to
mandatory sentences, meaning the judge had no ability to impose another sentence.

Myth: Life sentences are reserved for those who commit particularly heinous, premeditated crimes.
Fact: Many cases involve felony murder, meaning that the individual did not necessarily cause
or intend the victims death.

Myth: Adult crime, adult time.
Fact: Children sentenced to life in prison will serve twice as long as the average adult
serving the same sentence.

Myth: Tough sentences deter crime.
Fact: Research shows that imposing adult sentences on children does not deter youth crime.

Myth: Once a criminal, always a criminal.
Fact: Children are uniquely capable of rehabilitation and change because their brains are still
developing. The vast majority of youth mature out of at-risk behaviors as they grow up even
those who have committed very serious offenses. The SJC found that it is impossible to say with
certainty, at the time of sentencing, that a young person does not have the capacity to change.


Photographs by Steve Liss; used with permission.

A growing number of local, state, and national organizations are calling for an end to extreme sentencing of children, including:









facebook.com/FairSentence or text like FairSentence to 32665

If you are interested in signing on as a coalition member or know of other organizations/businesses that would like to be
active in our mission, or simply would like to support our Fair Sentencing work and the principles outlined,
Contact Linda Malik at 617-338-1050 or email her at lindamalik@cfjj.org