In Juvenile Parole Ruling, Mass. High Court Goes Step Beyond U.S. Supreme Court

When the highest court in Massachusetts issued its decision finding it unconstitutional to sentence anyone under age 18 to life in prison without the possibility of parole, it went a step beyond a similar recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In that June 2012 ruling, the nation's high court said mandatory life sentences for juveniles could not be imposed automatically, but the justices said they could be made on a case-by-case basis.

WBUR's All Things Considered host Sacha Pfeiffer talks about the court decision with Josh Dohan, director of the Youth Advocacy Division of the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state's public defender agency.