ABA Hails Supreme Court Decision on Juvenile Sentencing

Statement of Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III, President, American Bar Association
Re: Supreme Court Ruling in Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs

The American Bar Association hails today’s Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs eliminating the mandatory imposition of a sentence of life without parole on juvenile offenders.

We are gratified that the court followed its precedents in Roper v. Simmons and Graham v. Florida in determining that juvenile offenders are constitutionally different from adults for sentencing purposes. Juveniles are less morally culpable and more capable of rehabilitation than adults convicted of the same crimes.

The ABA has long maintained that the possibility of parole for juveniles will not compromise public safety or penal objectives. While not all juveniles will be able to establish that they should be granted parole, they should not be denied the opportunity to be considered for parole before they die in prison.

The ABA’s amicus brief in Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs is available online here.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

Please click here for a biography and photo of Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III, president of the American Bar Association.

Media contact: Meredith Josef (202-662-1092) or Meredith.Josef@americanbar.org