Massachusetts Judge Laments Recent Supreme Court Ruling That Juveniles Can Be Sentenced To Life Without Parole

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month appears to change course on the sentencing of juveniles.

The justices ruled that judges can use their discretion and sentence juvenile offenders to life in prison without parole. The ruling essentially limits an earlier Supreme Court ruling that said life sentences for young people could not be mandatory.

For more on this and what it might mean for Massachusetts, WBUR's Deb Becker spoke with retired Judge Jay Blitzman, who served as first justice of the Middlesex County Juvenile Court for nearly two decades. Blitzman is also co-founder of the group Citizens For Juvenile Justice and a founder of the Roxbury Youth Advocacy Project.