[20180430]LSB10123_第三巡回法庭宣布“无可挽救”少年犯事实上的无期徒刑无效.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Third Circuit Invalidates De Facto Life Sentences for “Non-Incorrigible” Juvenile Offenders April 30, 2018 Since the Supreme Court has held that the Eighth Amendment constrains the ability to impose sentences involving lifetime imprisonment on juvenile offenders, state and federal courts have grappled with the scope and applicability of these limitations. This issue frequently has arisen when a juvenile offenders sentence is not labeled as imprisonment for a term of life without the possibility of parole, but effectively covers the entirety of the offenders remaining lifespan. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Third Circuit) recently ruled in United States v. Grant that the Eighth Amendment prohibits “de facto” life without parole (LWOP) sentences for a non-incorrigible juvenile offender (i.e., a juvenile who retains the possibility of rehabilitation). The Third Circuit went further to recognize a rebuttable presumption that non-incorrigible juvenile offenders “should be afforded an opportunity for release before the national age of retirement.” As such, federal sentencing court