Democratic state Rep. Reginald Bolding filed a bill this session that would have eliminated natural life altogether for juvenile offenders. The bill failed without getting a committee hearing.
Cyntoia Brown & the “51-To-Life” Project: Arizona
This is the third 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 Arizona treats juvenile homicide offenders better than Tennessee.
Arizona
Arizona still allows juvenile homicide offenders to receive a sentence of life without parole. In terms of juvenile homicide offenders sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, Arizona passed Section 13-716 of the Arizona Revised Statutes in 2014. It states that
Notwithstanding any other law, a person who is sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of release after serving a minimum number of calendar years for an offense that was committed before the person attained eighteen years of age is eligible for parole on completion of service of the minimum sentence, regardless of whether the offense was committed on or after January 1, 1994. If granted parole, the person shall remain on parole for the remainder of the person’s life except that the person’s parole may be revoked pursuant to section 31-415.
The most significant case interpreting this statute seems to be State v. Vera, which held that a sentence for a juvenile homicide offender of life with the possibility of parole after serving 25 years was constitutional. Since Vera, courts in other Arizona cases have reached similar conclusions. Moreover,
Even though prosecutors say a change in state law isn’t necessary to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions, Bolding said he will push his proposal again next year and include a provision that would reduce the sentences of juvenile lifers already in prison so that they are eligible for parole after serving 25 or 35 years, depending on the age of the murder victims.
Therefore, Arizona treats juvenile homicide offenders better than Tennessee, which has requires such offenders to serve at least 51 years before being released.
-CM