Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Sentencing Law and Policy

Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

Detailing the extreme toughness of juvenile justice in Florida

By Douglas A. Berman

The constitutionality of the extreme toughness of juvenile justice in two paricular Florida cases will be before the Supreme Court in the Graham and Sullivan cases to be argued in the fall.  In the meantime, this front-page article from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, which is headlined "Florida justice: Tough on youths," provides more details on just how tough the Sunshine State is on young offenders.  Here are snippets from the piece: Records show that Florida has handed out more life sentences to juveniles for non-murder crimes than have all other states combined.  Florida's sentencing raises questions about cruelty as well as concerns about racial bias.  While blacks represent about 16 percent of Florida's population, and about half its prison population, 84 percent of juveniles sentenced to life without parole for non-homicide offenses were African-American...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 09, 2009 (boomark / email).