Media | Equal Justice Initiative

Media

New York Times: Justices Agree to Take Up Sentencing for Young Offenders, 05/04/09
Article discusses Supreme Court's decision to grant review in Joe Sullivan and Terrance Graham's cases.

Slate: All Locked Up, 11/04/09
Investigative report uncovers facts demonstrating that Joe Sullivan's trial was unfair and raises doubts about his guilt.

New York Times: Justices Consider the Role of Age in Life Sentences, 11/09/09
Article covers oral argument at U.S. Supreme Court, where EJI Director Bryan Stevenson argued on behalf of Joe Sullivan

Newsweek: Second Chances, 10/16/09
Former juvenile offender Raphael Johnson recounts his journey from prison to running for Detroit City Council.

Washington Post Op-Ed: A Sentence Too Cruel for Children, 10/23/09
Former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson shares his history as a former juvenile offender.

Findlaw: The Case Against Juvenile Life Without Parole, 10/26/09
Law professor Kristin Henning makes constitutional argument against sentencing children to die in prison.

Editorials

New Jersey Star-Ledger: Teenage 'Lifers' - Court Should End No-Parole Terms for Youths, 11/21/09

Patriot-News (Pennsylvania): Chance for Change - Life Sentence Removes Hopes for Juvenile Reform, 11/20/09

Lancaster Intelligencer Journal (Pennsylvania): Second Chances, 11/18/09

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Age Should Be a Factor in Setting Life Sentences, 11/17/09

Mercury News: For Kids, Life Without Parole is Cruel and Unusual, 11/17/09

Tampa Tribune: Juvenile Lifers Deserve Second Look, 11/16/09

San Diego Union Tribune: Don't Eliminate Hope - Juvenile Offenders Deserve Chance to Reform, 11/16/09

Toledo Blade: A Right to Hope, 11/15/09

Orlando Sentinel: Don't Throw Kids Away, 11/15/09

Las Vegas Sun: Crime and Punishment, 11/14/09

Nashua Telegraph: Life Without Parole Too Severe For Teens, 11/13/09

Baltimore Sun: A Chance for Redemption, 11/13/09

Casper Star-Tribune: Simpson - All Rivers Can Change Course, 11/12/09

Miami Herald: Reconsider Plight of Juvenile 'Lifers,' 11/11/09

Anchorage Daily News: Our View - Juvenile Injustice? Life Without Parole in Non-Fatal Crimes Is Too Extreme, 11/11/09

USA Today: Our View - Should a 13-Year-Old Be Locked Away For Life? 11/10/09

Houston Chronicle: Cruel and Unusual, 11/10/09

Des Moines Register: Except Murder, Life for Juveniles Is Too Long, 11/10/09

New York Times: Imprisoning a Child for Life, 11/09/09

Washington Post: Locked Away Forever, 11/09/09

St. Petersburg Times: When Life Is Too Long a Sentence, 11/09/09

Los Angeles Times: Cruel Life in Prison, 11/07/09

Philadelphia Inquirer: Throwing Away the Key, 11/03/09

New York Times: The Supreme Court Returns, 10/05/09

St. Petersburg Times: Life for Juveniles Needs Reviewing, 05/06/09

Opinion

Philadelphia Inquirer: The Limits of Juvenile Sentencing, 11/16/09

New York Times: The Young and the Reckless, 11/14/09

The Oregonian: Life Without Parole - A Juvenile's Case Comes Before the Supreme Court, 11/14/09

Palm Beach Post: Harsh Sentences for Juveniles, 11/13/09

Powell Tribune: Some Young Criminals Should Have a Second Chance, 11/12/09

Indiana Daily Student: Life in Prison at 13, 11/10/09

Boston Globe: A 2nd Chance at Freedom for Juvenile Offenders, 11/09/09

Yale Daily News: Juvenile Sentences Both Cruel and Unusual, 11/09/09

Philadelphia Tribune: We Must Stop Throwing Away Children's Lives, 11/07/09

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Is There No Redemption for Children?11/05/09

Miami Herald: Juveniles' Life Sentences Are Too Cruel, 11/03/09

Baltimore Sun: Don't Give Up on the Kids 11/01/09

ABA Journal: Adult Time for Adult Crimes, Nov. Issue

St. Petersburg Times: Myths of Get-Tough Law, 10/30/09

NPR: Should Juveniles Be Sent to Jail for Life?10/29/09

National Law Journal: The Juvenile Damned, 10/12/09

Los Angeles Times: Letters to the Editor, 10/09/09

Los Angeles Times: Sending Children to Prison for Life, 10/05/09

News

PBS Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, 11/13/09

Agence France Presse: Juveniles Serving Life Get U.S. High Court Hearing, 11/10/09

National Law Journal: Supreme Court Grapples with Constitutionality of Juvenile Sentences, 11/10/09

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court Seems Likely to Limit Life Sentences for Juveniles, 11/10/09

The Atlantic: Kids Locked Up for Life, 11/09/09

NPR: High Court Weighs Life Terms For Minors, 11/09/09

Yahoo News: High Court to Look at Life in Prison for Juveniles, 11/09/09

New York Times: Weighing Life in Prison for Youths Who Didn’t Kill, 11/07/09

Associated Press: High Court to Look at Life in Prison for Juveniles, 11/04/09

The Sunday Times of London: "Thug" Senator Alan Simpson Condemns Teen Convicts' Life Sentence, 11/01/09

Washington Post: Justices Will Scrutinize Life Sentences for Youths, 10/29/09

The Wall Street Journal: Life in Prison for Minors - Cruel and Unusual? 10/05/09

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court to Consider Juvenile 'Lifers', 09/28/09

Washington Post: High Court to Look at Life Sentences for Juveniles, 05/05/09

New York Times Column: A Life Term for Rape at 13: Cruel and Unusual? 02/02/09

On the Web

Slate: My So-Called Life Without Parole, 11/09/09

SCOTUSBlog: Inquiring Into the Juvenile Mind, 11/06/09

Huffington Post Op-Ed: U.S. Shouldn't Jail Youth for Life, 11/05/09

ACS Blog: Supreme Court Should Apply Roper Reasoning to Upcoming Juvenile Life-Without-Parole Cases, 10/29/09

The Root: Former Republican Senator and Charles 'Roc' Dutton Want No More Life in Prison for Teenagers, 10/06/09

The Two-Way - NPR's News Blog: Are Life Sentences for 13-Yr Olds Cruel and Unusual Punishment? 10/05/09

Sentencing Law and Policy Blog: SCOTUS Grants Cert in Sullivan, Juve LWOP Case, 05/04/09

CNN.com: Teens Locked Up for Life Without Second Chance, 04/08/09

Resources

EJI audio CSPAN
Bryan Stevenson's Statement After Sullivan v. Florida Argument, 11/09/09

EJI audio NPR
High Court Weighs Life Terms For Minors, 11/09/09

EJI audio NPR
Should Juveniles Be Sent to Jail for Life? 10/29/09

Sullivan/Graham Page

Cruel and Unusual: Sentencing 13- and 14-Year-Old Children to Die in Prison (PDF)

Fact Sheet on Children Sentenced to Die in Prison (PDF)

Media Resource Kit