Veteran Pittsburgh defense attorney James M. Ecker is among those who don't believe a criminal too young to buy cigarettes should be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Two human rights groups, Amnesty International USA and Human Rights Watch, agree, saying such sentences amount to cruel and unusual punishment for criminals who may not be mature enough to grasp the consequences of their actions.
The two organizations said Wednesday they want the United States to abolish the penalty, which is allowed in 43 states, including Pennsylvania, but imposed in only a handful of other countries.
Pennsylvania has the most prisoners -- 332 -- serving life sentences without parole for crimes committed as juveniles.
"To give a kid life without parole is insane. It's almost impossible to discuss with a child all of the ramifications of what happens in trial," said Ecker, who has defended several young people accused of homicide.
"Juveniles are very impressionable. Their brains have not matured enough, in many cases, to know the difference between right and wrong," said Ecker. "What a child is at 14 and what he might be at 24 or 34 is two different things."
A report by Amnesty International USA and Human Rights Watch states that young people are responsible for their actions.
"Children can and do commit terrible crimes. When they do, they should be held accountable, but in a manner that reflects their special capacity for rehabilitation," the report states.
"In civil matters, state and federal laws recognize the immaturity and irresponsibility of children. For example, they typically establish 18 as the minimum age to get married without parental consent, to vote, to sign contracts or to serve on a jury," according to the report.
Said Alison Parker, a senior researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch: "Kids who commit serious crimes shouldn't go scot-free. But if they're too young to vote or buy cigarettes, they are too young to spend the rest of their lives behind bars."
The U.S. Supreme Court decided earlier this year that executing juvenile killers was unconstitutional, a ruling based in part on international sentiment that youths are less culpable than adults.
"No one likes to think of a life wasted forever (in prison), but neither does anyone like to think about the lives wasted by the people serving a life term," said Hunter Hurst III, director of the National Center for Juvenile Justice, a juvenile research institution based in Pittsburgh. "They have their lives and the victims don't."
James Rieland, the director of juvenile court services in Allegheny County, was surprised to learn that the reports shows that Pennsylvania leads the nation in the number of prisoners serving life sentences without parole for crimes committed as juveniles.
Rieland said there have not been a large number of young people tried as adults in Allegheny County since 1995, when the state adopted a law stating that juveniles 15 and older be charged as adults when arrested for a specific array of violent crimes.
He also believes that a life sentence for a juvenile is sometimes justified.
"We went through a period of time in Pittsburgh and nationally when we had older adolescents who committed some pretty awful crimes. A lot of innocent people were shot or maimed in horrible crimes. We're talking about murder and indiscriminate shootings," Rieland said.
"Something had to be done. People were saying enough is enough already. You need some kind of social control."
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