Florida’s ‘juvenile lifers’ lose parole challenge in appeals court

Florida’s ‘juvenile lifers’ lose parole challenge in appeals court

TALLAHASSEE — A federal appeals court Tuesday rejected a constitutional challenge to the state’s parole system by inmates who were sent to prison decades ago for crimes they committed as juveniles. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower-court ruling in a class-action lawsuit that alleged violations of the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment and due-process rights. Florida…

Reformers Fight Against Juvenile Life-Without-Parole Sentences

As a teenager, John Pace dreamed of playing football or becoming a police officer. Growing up in Philadelphia, he found himself drawn to older people in the neighborhood, especially those with negative habits. In 1985, Pace learned that a lifestyle built on crime led him to a sentence of life in prison. At 17, he was charged in juvenile court with aggravated assault, robbery, and possession of a weapon. Ten days later, the victim of the robbery …

'Juvenile Lifers' Lose Parole Challenge

TALLAHASSEE — A federal appeals court Tuesday rejected a constitutional challenge to the state’s parole system by inmates who were sent to prison decades ago for crimes they committed as juveniles.