James Johnson
- Democratic
Primary
United States Supreme Court case law and scientific research has changed how we think about juvenile delinquency. We know now that an adolescent’s brain is not fully developed until his/her mid-twenties which makes juveniles especially prone to making poor choices. In the landmark case of Miller v. Alabama, wherein the United States Supreme Court prohibited mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles, the Court wrote: “Children are constitutionally different from adults for sentencing purposes.” This proposed legislation would repeal and remove all minimum-mandatory sentencing schemes for juveniles adjudicated delinquent in Family Court because children are different than adults. Family Court judges and commissioners would still be able to impose a commitment to a DSCYF secure placement, but would now have the ability to exercise their judicial discretion to fashion an appropriate sentence for an individual juvenile.
Signed by Governor
Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 NO
Assigned to Judicial & Community Affairs Committee in Senate
Reported Out of Committee (Judicial & Community Affairs) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT
Amendment HA 1 to HB 307 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
Amendment HA 1 to HB 307 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 6 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits
Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House
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