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

This is the fourth 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 Arkansas treats juvenile homicide offenders better than Tennessee.

Back in March, Arkansas passed the Fair Sentencing of Minors Act of 2017, which banned juvenile life without parole sentences for minors. The Act also provided retroactive relief for minors who had been given life without parole sentences, making them eligible for parole “after 20 or 30 years, depending on their conviction.”

Subsequently, 

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen ruled the law violated the U.S. and Arkansas constitutions and ordered a new sentencing hearing for Brandon Hardman, who convicted of capital murder for a fatal shooting he committed when he was 16.

That said,

Some judges outside Pulaski County have approved of the Legislature’s remedy.

We will need to wait and see what happens when the Supreme Court of Arkansas ultimately rules on the constitutionality of the Fair Sentencing of Minors Act of 2017. But, as of now, that law is still on the books, and it prevents the imposition of life without parole sentences on juveniles. Therefore, Arkansas treats juvenile offenders better than Tennessee.

-CM