For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2 - 30

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's
Retreat From the Sentencing of
Juveniles Convicted of Murder
Bradley Bridge
I
n 2005, the United States Supreme Court in Roper1
ruled that it was a violation of the Eighth Amendment
to execute juveniles convicted of murder. Building
on Roper, the United States Supreme Court, in a little
more than a decade after Roper, ruled that it was
unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile convicted of a nonhomicide
to life imprisonment;2
it was unconstitutional to
sentence a juvenile convicted of murder to mandatory
life imprisonment;3
life sentences for juveniles applied retroactively.4
Batts I 5 and Batts II6
, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
built upon those foundations and set up procedures
governing the sentencing of juveniles convicted of
murder. These procedures included notice to the defense
if the prosecution was going to seek a discretionary
life sentence; proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a
juvenile sentenced to discretionary life sentence was
30 For The Defense l Vol. 7, Issue 2
In 2005 in Roper, the United States Supreme Court held
that it was a violation of the Eighth Amendment's Cruel
and Unusual Punishment Clause to impose a sentence
of death upon juveniles. In reaching the conclusion that
the juvenile death penalty was categorically banned, the
Supreme Court examined how often death sentences
and that the rule banning mandatory
In
irreparably corrupt; and a presumption against imposition
of a discretionary life sentence. Then in 2021, the United
States Supreme Court decided Jones v. Mississippi7
and,
in February 2022, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in
Felder8
read Jones as significantly cutting back the scope
of Miller so it overruled Batts II. This article will discuss the
landscape in Pennsylvania leading up to Felder and what
issues are still (or newly) viable post-Felder.
2005 to 2012 - Roper to Miller

For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2

Contents
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2 - 1
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2 - 2
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2 - Contents
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2 - 4
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2 - 5
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2 - 6
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2 - 7
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2 - 8
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For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2 - 30
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2 - 31
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For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 2 - 42
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