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Hawaii has abolished the practice of sentencing children to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The legislature has approved HB 2116 CD1 and sent it to Gov. Neil Abercrombie for his signature. Gov. Abercrombie signed the measure into law on July 2.

“In Hawaii, family is the most important part of life,” said Kauai County Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar.  “I am proud of our legislators for acknowledging that the minds of children are different from those of adults in very specific ways.  Certainly, when children commit serious crimes, we in law enforcement must respond and protect the community; however, putting a child in prison and throwing away the key is not a humane or cost-effective solution to this problem.”

Legislators note in the bill that “children are constitutionally different from adults and that these differences must be taken into account when children are sentenced.” The bill further states that “children are more vulnerable to negative influences and outside pressures, including from family and peers, they have limited control over their own environment, and they may lack the ability to extricate themselves from horrific, crime-producing settings.”

The bill notes that children typically age out of criminal behavior.  “Youthfulness both lessens a juvenile’s moral culpability and enhances the prospect that, as the youth matures into an adult and neurological development occurs, the individual can become a contributing member of society.”

“In passing this legislation, Hawaii legislators became part of a growing number of policymakers and opinion leaders ranging from President Jimmy Carter to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and national organizations such as the Boy Scouts, corrections organizations and faith bodies who have called for reform in the ways that we hold children accountable for serious crimes,” said Jody Kent Lavy, director and national coordinator at the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. “These lawmakers have demonstrated that we can hold children accountable for the harm they have caused without sentencing them to die in prison. We call on Gov. Abercrombie to act quickly to sign this important legislation.”

Under HB 2116 CD1, children who are convicted of first-degree murder will be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Under existing Hawaii law, once individuals become eligible for parole, they are entitled to review every 12 months. They are also entitled to counsel and there is a presumption in favor of parole if they have been ‘assessed’ as having a low likelihood of reoffending. The parole hearing also must be transcribed and archived, and the paroling authority must state its reasons for granting or denying parole.”

Prosecutors in Hawaii supported the passage of the bill.

The United States is the only country in the world that imposes this sentence upon our children.

Read the blog post from the Hawaii House of Representatives

West Virginia has eliminated the practice of sentencing children to die in prison. Every child convicted and sentenced in adult court will be eligible for parole no later than after serving 15 years. With this new law, West Virginia is among a growing number of U.S. states that have either abandoned this sentence or severely limited its use. The U.S. is the only country in the world that imposes this sentence upon children.

“We applaud West Virginia for responding in a meaningful way to the recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that children are ‘constitutionally different’ from adults and should not be subject to our nation’s harshest punishments,” said Jody Kent Lavy, director & national coordinator of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. “This new law ensures young people are held accountable for harm they have caused in a way that accounts for their unique characteristics as children and offers them hope of a second chance.”

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed HB 4210 into law on Friday. The bill passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support in the House of Delegates and unanimously in the Senate.

“This bill demonstrates that we take seriously our responsibility of caring for young people and for making sure our communities are safe,” said Sen. Corey Palumbo, D-Kanawha, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Under HB 4210, children who are convicted of serious crimes will be held accountable for their actions. However, they will also be given a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate later in life that they have been rehabilitated and deserve a second chance. This bill represents our understanding that children are different from adults and that our courts need to take these differences into account when dealing with children.  It is also sound fiscal policy for West Virginia, allowing us to maintain public safety while ensuring that we make the best use of our state’s limited financial resources.”

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Miller v. Alabama that it is unconstitutional to impose an automatic sentence of life without the possibility of parole for crimes committed as children. It also requires that sentencing authorities consider specific factors when children face the possibility of these sentences. Drawing on this guidance, HB 4210 requires the consideration of 15 specific factors when determining the appropriate sentence for a child convicted of a serious crime. Among these are the child’s age, role in the crime, intellectual capacity, history of trauma, family background and potential for rehabilitation.

HB 4210 will provide children with several opportunities to be considered for review and release. If parole is not granted at 15 years, review is available again every year for children who receive sentences short of a life term and every three years for children sentenced to life with parole in prison.

The United States Supreme Court, in three rulings during the past decade, has scaled back the use of extreme sentences for children. Policymakers throughout the country, opinion leaders as diverse as President Jimmy Carter and Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and editorial boards at the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and elsewhere have voiced their support for reform. When imposed upon children, life without parole is a violation of Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which expressly forbids life without parole sentences for children.

The Texas Court of Criminal of Appeals, the highest criminal court in the state, ruled in Ex Parte Terrell Maxwell on March 12 that Miller v. Alabama, which struck down mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children, applies to those sentenced prior to the Court issued its decision in June 2012. The court held that Miller created a substantive rule, meeting the federal legal standard to apply the decision retroactively.   As a result, approximately 20 people currently serving mandatory life without parole for crimes committed as youth will be resentenced.