Court Limits Harsh Terms for Youths
By Joan Biskupic and Martha T. Moore/The Washington Post WASHINGTON— The Supreme Court ruled Monday that juveniles cannot be sentenced to life without parole for crimes other than murder, in a significant 5-4 decision that says imposing such sentences violates the Constitution's prohibition on "cruel and unusual" punishment.The court's 5-4 decision — which says that an automatic life sentence for a young offender who has not committed murder violates the Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual" punishment — wipes out laws in 37 states. It means that the 129 juveniles now serving time under such laws will, at some point, have an opportunity to make a case for parole. Most significantly, the decision — signed by the nine-member court's four more liberal justices and Anthony Kennedy, the conservative who votes with the liberals the most — emphasizes that young criminals are different from adults. And not just when it comes to the death penalty, which the court made off-limits for juveniles in 2005. "A life without parole sentence improperly denies the juvenile offender a chance to demonstrate growth and maturity," Kennedy wrote for the majority in the decision that found life without parole disproportionally harsh. |
Adolescents with access to school-based health care were 10 times more likely to make a mental health or substance abuse visit than those who were enrolled in a managed care system (HMO) but lacked a school-based facility.
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