I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I did a lot of stupid things as a kid. Growing up, my group of friends and I were constantly getting into some sort of trouble. Looking back, I don’t think we were as “bad” as we thought we were, but we certainly were trying to some of the residents of our small town. I think just about everyone has some teenage memory they look back on and feel dumb.
Looking back, however, requires moving on from where we were. For some in Mississippi that’s not possible. I’m talking about those sentenced to life without parole for crimes committed while they were juveniles – under 18.
I’ve written about juveniles, who were tried as adults, before, but there is something particularly concerning about sentencing teenagers to life in prison and throwing away the key. For starters, it’s unconstitutional.
In 2012, the United States Supreme Court ruled the sentencing of juveniles to life in prison without parole violated the constitution. They said it was tantamount to a death sentence, as the child would never be allowed a chance at an adult life. The exception, they said, were “rare cases of irreparable corruption.”
A year later, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled all life sentences were automatically without parole. To fall into line with federal rulings, Mississippi Justices said every juvenile guilty of a capital crime would need to have a resentencing hearing. That set off a chain of appeals and resentencing requests that’s still going on.
Since then, 44 cases have been retried. Of those, 13 have been resentenced to life in prison without parole, this time, with “irreparable corruption” being cited as the reasoning behind the decision. Additionally, 47 new sentences in juvenile trials have nabbed another five life without parole sentences. These numbers are coming from a report the state Office of the Public Defender released in August.
Now, these are murder cases. The kids, no matter how they’re sentenced, if guilty, killed someone. As a fellow human being, I am 100 percent against that, and I agree they should spend time in jail. However, I cannot fathom the reasoning that goes into sending a child to prison for the rest of their lives.
Irreparable corruption means they can never be fixed; they’ll never be able to contribute to society. The average life expectancy for a male – yes, most of them are male – in Mississippi is 74.9 years. Applying that to Charlie Jones or DeShaun Wilson, both 16, who were sentenced to life in prison in Scott County after the 2012 ruling, “irreparable corruption” would mean deciding there is zero doubt in my mind neither one of them will ever have a chance a normal life in the 49 or so years they have left to live.
Both Jones and Wilson will be eligible for parole at some point, but my point still stands. I couldn’t do it, and I don’t see how any objective human being could.
Contact Thomas at thoward@newtoncountyappeal.com.
