Reuters: U.S.: Youths serving life without parole get second chance in California

Reuters: U.S. Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Youths serving life without parole get second chance in California Sep 30th 2012, 21:32 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Anti-Islam filmmaker held at Los Angeles federal jail Sat, Sep 29 2012 Sandusky to be sentenced after October 9 predator hearing Mon, Sep 17 2012 UPDATE 4-Bahrain court upholds sentences on uprising leaders Tue, Sep 4 2012 Inmates are escorted by a guard through San Quentin state prison in San Quentin, California, June 8, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Lucy Nicholson By Mary Slosson SACRAMENTO | Sun Sep 30, 2012 5:32pm EDT SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law on Sunday a measure that grants juvenile offenders sentenced to life in prison without parole the chance to petition for their release after serving 25 years. Roughly 300 inmates in California's prison system have been sentenced to a lifetime behind bars for offenses committed as teenagers, according to the bill's sponsor, state Senator Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco. Those inmates will now be eligible for parole after serving at least 25 years in prison. The courts can review their cases after 15 years in prison and lower their sentence to 25 years to life if the juvenile offenders demonstrate remorse and work towards rehabilitation. "The governor's signature ... is emotional for both the supporters and the opposition, but I am proud that today California said we believe all kids, even those we had given up on in the past, are deserving of a second chance," Yee said in a statement. The California District Attorney's Association opposed the bill, saying it applies almost exclusively to 16 or 17-year-olds convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances, and that life without the possibility of parole is an appropriate sentence for them. The law will take effect on January 1. (Reporting by Mary Slosson) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions