On November 9th, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments challenging the constitutionality of juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) sentences. In preparation for oral arguments, JLWOP: Faces & Cases will be an on-going series on The Foundry that will tell real stories about juvenile offenders who are currently serving LWOP sentences. Defendant: Ethan Allen Windom (17) Victim: Judith Windom Crime: Second degree murder Where: Boise, Idaho Crime date: January 25, 2007 Verdict: Guilty Sentence: Life without parole Summary Ethan Allan Windom battered his mother with a barbell and then …
This morning we mentioned how leftist activists (like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), HumanRights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International (AI), Equal Justice Initiative, and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund) are spreading false information as part of their campaign to ban life without parole sentences for violent juvenile offenders. One particularly jarring misrepresentation of fact came from an Equal Justice Institute report that recounted: “At 14, Ashley tried to escape the violence and abuse by running away with an older boyfriend who shot and killed her grandfather and aunt. Her …
This fall the Supreme Court will hear two cases from Florida challenging a state’s ability to sentence violent juvenile offenders to life without the possibility of parole. Long unquestioned, life without parole for the very worst juvenile offenders only recently came under fire after Justice Anthony M. Kennedy reasoned in the majority opinion in Roper v Simmons that since teenagers are susceptible to negative influences, including peer pressure, capital punishment violated their 8th Amendment rights. Leftist activists have seized on this language, and are mounting a coordinated misinformation campaign to …
