Juvenile Life Sentences Ruled Unconstitutional | Second Chance Kids
Video 2: States Interpret the Rulings  

BRYAN STEVENSON, Dir. Equal Justice Initiative:
The states, not surprisingly, dug in and looked to resist. 

HEARING WITNESS: 
If you all look at the history of Colorado, some of the most hideous crimes were committed by juveniles. 

DAN MAY, District Attorney, El Paso County, CO:
Let's call this the way it is. This is unconscionable. It's outrageous. 

NEWSCASTER:
Some states have already been applying the law retroactively. Others, like Louisiana, have not. 

BETH SCHWARTZAPFEL, Reporter, The Marshall Project:
So there are some states that interpreted Miller in as narrow a way as possible and refused to grant retroactivity to the cases that came before. 

NEWSCASTER:
Judges in Florida are circumventing a Supreme Court ruling─ 

BETH SCHWARTZAPFEL:
Other states explicitly said they were eligible for parole after some crazy amount of time, like 50 years. 

NEWSCASTER:
─prison terms that are virtual life sentences─ 

BETH SCHWARTZAPFEL: 
They said, "We have to do this because the Supreme Court said we have to, but we're going to be as stringent as we possibly can about it." 

There were other states like Massachusetts that were really out front. In Massachusetts, the court ruled that life without parole is unconstitutional, period, for juveniles. And then it made them eligible for parole after 15 years. 

The way that Massachusetts interpreted the rights that the Supreme Court granted to juvenile lifers was as generous as you'll see anywhere else. The question of how it plays out in real life is a different question.