On April 22, 2021 the Supreme Court decided Jones v. Mississippi. The issue was whether the Eighth Amendment requires the sentencing authority to make a finding that a juvenile is permanently incorrigible before imposing a sentence of life without parole.
In a 6-3 opinion authored by Justice Kavanaugh, the Court affirmed the ruling of the Supreme Court of Mississippi, holding, “The Eighth Amendment does not require a finding that a juvenile is permanently incorrigible before imposing a sentence of life without parole.”
Justice Thomas filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Justice Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Breyer and Kagan joined.
Marc Levin, Chief Policy Counsel for the Council on Criminal Justice and Senior Advisor of Right on Crime, joins us today to discuss this case and its implications.