A Nebraska lawmaker says prisoners serving life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles should instead face a minimum 20-year sentence
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A Nebraska lawmaker says prisoners serving life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles should instead face a minimum 20-year sentence.
Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha presented a bill Friday to the Legislature's Judiciary Committee that would establish a new, minimum prison term for the offenders.
The bill follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prohibited life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed by juveniles. Lawmakers are now trying to balance the need for justice with the recognition that adolescent brains aren't fully developed.
Ashford says he will push for a 20-year minimum. He says he wouldn't oppose making the bill apply to Nebraska's 27 juvenile lifers, but he wants to make sure it's constitutional.
A Nebraska prosecutors' group is pushing for a 60-year minimum sentence.
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The bill is LB44
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