Cyntoia Brown & the “51-To-Life” Project: Iowa

This is the sixteenth in a series of posts on the “51-To-Life” Project. In Tennessee, if a juvenile is convicted of first-degree murder, there are two sentencing options: (1) life without the possibility of parole; or (2) life with the possibility of parole, with that possibility only existing after the juvenile has been incarcerated for 51 years. In this post, I will explain why Iowa treats juvenile homicide offenders better than Tennessee.  

In its 2016 opinion in State v. Sweet, the Supreme Court of Iowa found that all juvenile life without parole sentence are unconstitutional. Therefore, Iowa treats juvenile homicide offenders better than Tennessee.

-CM