Less than Life

Dimitri Buffer was eligible for resentencing after the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in his case last year that a 41-year sentence is equivalent to life for a juvenile.

An Illinois man originally sentenced to serve 100 years in prison for a murder he committed at age 16 was re-sentenced Monday to 39 years by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth J. Wadas.

The Illinois Supreme Court unanimously ruled in a landmark decision Thursday that a 41-year sentence for a juvenile offender constitutes the equivalent of a life term.The decision triggers sentencing protections for juvenile offenders who are sentenced to more than 40 years in prison.

The Illinois Supreme Court justices have the chance to decide how long is too long in sentencing juvenile offenders to prison without any hope of parole. At issue is a 50-year sentence imposed by a Cook County judge in a murder committed by a 16-year old.

Following U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Illinois’ high court has already ruled a 97-year mandatory sentence for a crime committed as a youth violates the constitution. But how many years is too much time? The court this week takes up the case of a man sentenced to 50 years in prison for a crime committed as a 16-year-old.

Was Cyntoia Brown, convicted of murder at age 16 and given a sentence that would make her eligible for release at age 67, given an unconstitutional life sentence?

The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on the legality of imposing a lengthy mandatory sentence with no hope of parole for crimes committed by a 18-year-old Darien Harris.