Article on Note: What is Life? Geriatric Release and the Conflicting Definitions of “Meaningful Opportunity for Release”

Anthony Gunst recently published an Article entitled, Note: What is Life? Geriatric Release and the Conflicting Definitions of “Meaningful Opportunity for Release,” 24 Wash. & Lee J. C.R. & Soc. Just. 611-643 (2018). Provided below is an abstract of the Article:

The United States Supreme Court has recognized that juveniles are less culpable than adults and therefore “less deserving of the most severe punishments.” For example, in Graham v. Florida, the Supreme Court ruled that sentencing a juvenile to life without parole (LWOP) for non-homicide offenses violates the Eighth Amendment. Additionally, in Miller v. Alabama, the Supreme Court found mandatory LWOP sentences for juveniles, in homicide cases, unconstitutional.

Unfortunately, the Graham and Miller decisions have caused much confusion about how to incorporate these rules into juvenile sentencing. In Graham, the Court found that juveniles who commit non-homicide offenses must be afforded a “meaningful opportunity for release” but allowed states to define meaningful opportunity, which has led to many different outcomes. Indeed, the dissenting opinion of Justice Thomas and Justice Scalia predicted that failing to define “meaningful opportunity” would “no doubt embroil the courts for years.” For example, state courts have grappled with the issue of whether lengthy term-of-years sentences may violate Graham and Miller because they de facto sentence them to LWOP. Courts have also grappled with the question of whether the prospect for geriatric parole constitutes a meaningful opportunity for release.

This Note aims to assess whether geriatric parole should constitute a meaningful opportunity for release under Graham. The first section will discuss why juveniles are treated differently in the first place. Then, the rule set out in Graham will be further analyzed. Third, the issue of lengthy term-of-years sentences will be briefly discussed to exemplify issues the courts have had with the Graham rule. Then geriatric parole and parole will be defined and compared. Finally, this Note will analyze how courts have dealt with geriatric parole so far—with a heavy focus on Virginia courts. The Note will conclude with whether geriatric parole should constitute a meaningful opportunity for release.