Florida has a distinction no one living in the state should be proud of!
This state has 77 juvenile offenders who did not commit murder serving life without parole, out of 100 such cases nationally.
This came about because of overreaction in the past two decades to the high level of crime in the Sunshine state–that is, how it would affect tourism, and the very high level of senior citizens who obviously felt threatened by the crime wave that reached its peak in the 1990s.
But to sentence a person 12-17 to life without parole for rape or armed burglary seems unacceptable. And even the fact that nationally, over 2,500 juveniles have been sentenced to life without parole for crimes including murder, does seem to be counterproductive, as the possibility of reform, while unlikely, should be available after long periods of imprisonment, especially considering there is no other country which treats juveniles this way!
There is now a case before the Supreme Court regarding the lifetime imprisonment of someone for rape or armed burglary. It could be the equivalent of a “Brown V Board of Education” case for juvenile law, and therefore is a case that should be watched closely.