In 2010, the Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the imposition of life without parole (LWOP) on a juvenile who commits a nonhomicide offense. The Court held that nonhomicidal juveniles are entitled to a “meaningful opportunity to obtain release” within their lifetimes. But does the Eighth Amendment’s ban apply to sentences that are not labeled as LWOP but effectively guarantee that the juvenile will die in prison (de facto LWOP)? And what exactly constitutes a meaningful opportunity for release? Is the Eighth Amendment satisfied if the juvenile is released just days before his natural death? Courts around the country have grappled with these questions, and the current state of juvenile sentencing in this context is one of uncertainty and inconsistency.
