Judge makes suit against Missouri Parole Board over juvenile sentences a class action

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BRANSON MO NEWS: A federal judge has granted class certification to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in November that alleges the Missouri Parole Board is ignoring court rulings that determined that juveniles cannot be sentenced to life without parole.The lawsuit was filed by the MacArthur Justice Center and Husch Blackwell LLP on behalf of offenders who were sentenced in Missouri courts to life without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed as minors.Norman Brown, Ralph McElroy, Sidney Roberts, and Theron Roland have all served for at least 25 years and have applied for parole, and all were denied, the order to certify the lawsuit states. The lawsuit also represents 80 prisoners in Missouri who face similar circumstances.

The order to certify the lawsuit as a class action was signed by U.S. District Court Judge Nanette Laughrey.“We applaud the Court’s recognition of the systemic issues in Missouri’s parole system as it relates to juvenile offenders,” said Amy E. Breihan, an attorney with MacArthur’s St. Louis office, in a prepared statement. “This class represents individuals who were sentenced to die behind bars for crimes they allegedly committed as children. Missouri has seemingly denied them justice at every turn, but this decision is a strong step in the right direction.”In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Miller v. Alabama, which disallowed mandatory life without parole prison terms for those under 18 years old. Sentencing someone that young to life without parole violates the 8th Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision. It was later determined that the Miller ruling applies retroactively, which would affect dozens of offenders currently incarcerated in Missouri prisons.