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Supreme Court Decision Calls Into Question Scores Of Juvenile Cases in Mass.

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Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled that life sentences for juveniles convicted of murder without the possibility of parole violates the Eight Amendment. (AP)
Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled that life sentences for juveniles convicted of murder without the possibility of parole violates the Eight Amendment. (AP)

Lawmakers and law enforcement officials continue to grapple with the impact of yesterday's major Supreme Court ruling regarding juveniles and the criminal justice system. The court ruled 5-4 that juveniles convicted of murder cannot be sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The ruling affects 29 states, including Massachusetts, and is something of a culmination of a year's long-trend where the high court and those 29 states seem to have been moving in different directions when it comes to the constitutionality of severe juvenile sentences.

Guests:

  • James Fox, professor of criminology, law, and public policy at Northeastern University

More:

This segment aired on June 26, 2012.

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