In 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court banned the death penalty for minor offenders. Ditto as to life imprisonment for certain crimes in 2009 and 2012. The Court has encouraged other courts to choose more progressive and humane treatment of young offenders. Now, the 13th Judicial Circuit Court has banned Florida's mandatory minimum sentencing requirements for ALL MINORS. It relied heavily on the USCC's decisions.

Is the law "cruel and unusual" punishment?

Florida requires that any minor who “killed, intended to kill, or attempted to kill” be sentenced to at least 40 years in prison. Under the statute, judges have no discretion to lessen this sentence.

Judge William Fuente thinks so:

Thus, minors are protected against mandatory punishments under the Constitution, and are instead guaranteed “individualized sentencing.” That requires judges to consider a defendant’s immaturity, recklessness, family, and “home environment.”

Florida’s 40-year mandatory minimum, Fuente ruled, violates this principle, thereby violating the Eighth Amendment. Under the law, judges are not permitted to decide that a juvenile’s immaturity, brutal family, and neglectful home environment render him less culpable for attempted murder—and therefore deserving of a shorter sentence.

Now let's hope the USSC upholds this decision and eradicate the pernicious laws that do not keep us safe but instead destroys lives and entire communities. For more on this movement, join the Equal Justice Initiative.

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