High Court to Look at Life in Prison for Juveniles

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Sullivan was sent away for life for raping an elderly woman and judged incorrigible though he was only 13 at the time of the attack.

Terrance Graham, implicated in armed robberies when he was 16 and 17, was given a life sentence by a judge who told the teenager he threw his life away.

They didn’t kill anyone, but they effectively were sentenced to die in prison.

Read more http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/08/us/politics/AP-US-Supreme-Court-Juvenile-Sentences.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=bryan%20stevenson&st=cse

It sure seems harsh to me.  On the other hand, when children as young as 13 are committing grave crimes, how likely is rehabilitation in prision?  Would you really want to meet this person on the street after he’s had a substantial prison time and some parole board says he’s rehabilitated?

Whaddayathink?