Juvenile LWOP Update

Last month, after 13 years, the last of 49 Colorado children unconstitutionally sentenced to life without parole have been resentenced, and a milestone ADC project central to its core values and mission has come to an end.  And the end, as of today, 23 kids who were told they'd die in prison are home, and the others either have mandatory release dates or parole eligibility dates.     

In 2012, the US Supreme Court in Miller v. Alabama held that kids can't be sentenced to mandatory terms of life without parole.  In 2015, in Montgomery v. Alabama the Court said Miller is retroactive and applies to anyone who had already been sentenced when Miller was decided. The Court did not prohibit states from sentencing kids to LWOP, it only required that it not be mandatory.  But in 2016, the Colorado General Assembly chose to do away with LWOP for children altogether, passing a law that changed the penalty for class 1 felonies for children tried as adults to 40-life, rather than LWOP.  And, critically, it gave those sentenced to unconstitutional, mandatory LWOP sentences, the opportunity to either be resentenced to 40-life, or if they could show extraordinary mitigating circumstances, determinate terms of 30-50 years, guaranteeing them a mandatory release date.  

ADC represented 41 of the 49 individuals wrongfully sentenced to JLWOP.  The ADC social work program originated within this group of cases, and they were the first and best examples of interdisciplinary teams providing holistic defense.  Many current and former ADC defenders were on these teams and spent years fighting these cases.  THANK YOU! 

After 49 resentencings, 23 children - now adults in their 40s - who were told they would die in prison are home.  Some are working in our defense community, and we are fortunate to call them colleagues.  

The very first attorney to object to mandatory life without parole as applied to a child probably didn't think it was going anywhere. But more and more people raised that objection, more and more people filed appeals, and eventually Miller and Montgomery were decided.  And now over 1,000 kids nationwide will not die in prison.  Every objection, motion and appeal counts - indeed, lives may depend on it. 

We at ADC are committed to providing defense teams with the support, training and resources they need to make those objections, file those motions, and pursue those appeals.  Because every client we represent deserves the best defense we can provide.