The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth is proud to release “A Decade After Montgomery v. Louisiana: Progress, Gaps, and the Promise of Meaningful Review for Children Serving Extreme Sentences,” a new report examining the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2016 decision. The report assesses national progress in limiting extreme sentences for children, documents promising outcomes associated with sentencing review, and identifies the work that remains to fully implement Montgomery. The report can be downloaded at this link.

In Montgomery v. Louisiana, the Court reaffirmed its earlier ruling in Miller v. Alabama, which held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children are in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Montgomery clarified that Miller must be applied retroactively, requiring states to ensure individuals already serving juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) receive sentences that comply with the U.S. Constitution. In recognizing the mitigating qualities of youth and the growing body of adolescent brain science, the Court affirmed that children possess a unique capacity for growth, rehabilitation, and redemption.

Yet this anniversary is not only a moment of reflection but also a reminder that the work remains unfinished. JLWOP and other extreme sentences still exist, perpetuating racial injustice and falling short of the constitutional principles the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a decade ago. CFSY calls on policymakers, advocates, and communities across the country to carry forward these principles. Doing so requires strengthening resentencing and parole systems so that opportunities for review are meaningful and accessible, ending reliance on extreme punishments, and investing in approaches that promote accountability, healing, and lasting community safety.

The full report can be accessed and downloaded at this link. For more information, or if you would like to arrange an interview, please contact Callie King-Guffey at [email protected].

The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth is a nonprofit that leads efforts to ban life-without-parole and other extreme sentences for children, and supports those incarcerated as children who are released after serving long sentences to lead and thrive.