New ABA Policy Recommendation Encourages Appropriate Treatment of
Youthful Offenders
A new resolution passed by the American Bar Association (ABA) urges federal, state, and local governments to recognize the age and maturity of youthful offenders as mitigation in sentencing and policymaking. The resolution is accompanied by a report outlining the historical perspective and rationale for acknowledging that youth who commit "adult crimes" are nonetheless not adults. Much of this reasoning was affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in Roper v. Simmons, the case which abolished the juvenile death penalty. The ABA asks that sentencing policy recognize the developmental differences between youth and adults and allow for generally less punitive sentences which are open to subsequent modification, and that include eligibility for parole at a reasonable time. Learn more at: www.abanet.org.
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