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United States Supreme Court Declares Miller v. Alabama Retroactive

In the case of Montgomery v. Louisiana, the United States Supreme Court declared that Miller v. Alabama applies retroactively. This means that the approximately 2,500 people serving life without the possibility of parole sentences imposed when they were children are entitled to be resentenced. This also means relief for approximately 540 Pennsylvanians who were condemned to die in prison as children. We started the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project to make meaningful the Court’s pronouncements about how children are different and deserving of representation and treatment by our justice system that reflects it. We are overjoyed thinking of the juvenile lifers and their family members who have personally expressed to us their anguish at not having been able to present mitigating information in court before being sent away for life. Today, that changes. Thank you for supporting us and the young people and families who are impacted by the adult criminal justice system. Today is a momentous day and we are excited to move forward together. For more background on the Montgomery case and decision, visit our partners’ websites The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth and Juvenile Law Center. To read the Amicus brief filed in support of Henry Montgomery in Montgomery v. Louisiana, and joined by YSRP, click here.
8374379.0 “Prisoners like Montgomery must be given the opportunity to show their crime did not reflect irreparable corruption; and, if it did not, their hope for some years of life outside prison walls must be restored.” – Justice Kennedy, Montgomery v. Louisiana
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