2020 Legislative Interim Research Report on Criminal Sentencing of Juvenile Offenders

This report will review issues related to the sentencing of juvenile offenders in adult criminal court, with a specific focus on sentences to life imprisonment. The report will include an overview of relevant state sentencing requirements and federal and state case law regarding Eighth Amendment constraints on sentences imposed on juvenile offenders in adult criminal court. It will also include options from stakeholder groups regarding possible modifications to the procedures and standards for sentencing juvenile offenders in adult criminal court, including the procedures and standards for determining a juvenile’s eligibility for release to supervision.