Abstract: It's a State Thing: Mapping State-Level Policy Reform across the United States Related to Juvenile Life without Parole Sentencing (Society for Social Work and Research 28th Annual Conference - Recentering & Democratizing Knowledge: The Next 30 Years of Social Work Science)

Schedule:

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Independence BR C, ML 4 (Marriott Marquis Washington DC)

* noted as presenting author

Leah Ouellet, M.S., Doctoral Student, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Rebecca Turner, JD, Senior Litigation Counsel, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, DC

Daphne Brydon, PhD, LMSW, Lecturer, Researcher, Clinical Social Worker, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI

J.Z. Bennett, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati, OH

Jeffrey Ward, PhD, Associate Professor, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

Dylan Jackson, PhD, Assistant Professor, The Johns Hopkins University, MD

Laura Abrams, PhD, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Background and Purpose: The rise in mass incarceration over the last 50 years was driven, in part, by the rapid increase in the imposition of extreme sentences, including juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) since the 1980’s. By 2012, over 2,800 youth were sentenced to JLWOP and nearly 7,500 more were sentenced to life with parole (JLWP). Following the Supreme Court’s decisions in Miller and Montgomery, many states were required to reform their use of JLWOP. Over 40 states adapted their sentencing policies as a result, restricting the use of both JLWOP and JLWP sentences. However, the formulation and implementation of these state-level policies has been varied and sporadic, leading to concerns related to the known disparities among this population. This is the first study in the U.S. to track and analyze these policy changes across the country to highlight patterns in reform measures.

Methods: Using policy surveillance and policy tracking methods, we systematically traced and compared policy changes in each state over the last 10 years. We were able to document and code the various iterations of state statutes and text to allow for the direct comparison of policy dimensions. Data were analyzed and displayed using QDA Miner and mapping software.

Results: Several trends emerged concerning pathways to reform, the substance of new state statutes, release mechanisms, and the prescribed legal procedures in a state. These trends reveal multiple typologies across the new statutes, specifically regarding the condition in which states are likely to adopt progressive reforms (e.g., extending reform measure to youth over 18 years old) compared to those states with reforms that are more limited in scope. We also found notable variation in the sentencing criteria specified by a state and the alternative sentence options they provided.

Conclusions and Implications: This is the first study to analyze the national landscape of policy implementation post Miller and Montgomery. Systematically examining the variations in policy formulation and implementation around decarceration and second chances for juvenile lifers can facilitate equitable reform measures for JLWOP, as well as other groups of lifers and people serving long sentences.