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    Less than Life

    News

    Chicago man’s 39-year sentence for murder committed as teen cut to 25 years

    By Emily Hoerner | December 10, 2020

    The Illinois Appellate Court, in a rare step, amended a 16-year-old offender’s sentence finding that Cook County Circuit Judge Kenneth J. Wadas had not properly considered the teen’s youth at the time of the incident.

    Juvenile Justice
    Dimitri Buffer

    Judge cuts sentence in half for Chicago man charged with murder at 16

    By Emily Hoerner | August 25, 2020

    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.

    Dimitri Buffer
    Less than Life

    Illinois Supreme Court rules that 41-year term for juvenile offender amounts to life

    By Emily Hoerner | April 18, 2019

    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.

    Less than Life
    Illinois Supreme Court building

    Illinois high court hears defense, prosecutor debate 50-year sentence for youth

    By Emily Hoerner | January 15, 2019

    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.

    News
    Dimitri Buffer

    Question before court: How long is too long for sentencing youthful offenders?

    By Emily Hoerner | January 14, 2019

    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.

    Left: Cyntoia Brown in an undated photo in prison; right: the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati
    Less than Life

    U.S. Appeals Court hears arguments on youth sentence of 51 years before parole

    By Emily Hoerner and Jeanne Kuang | June 15, 2018

    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 bench
    Less than Life

    Illinois high court to consider how much time is too much for youth crime

    By Emily Hoerner and Jeanne Kuang | June 4, 2018

    The Illinois Supreme Court will consider whether a sentence of 50 years without parole for a 16-year-old violates the state and federal constitutions. Courts nationwide and in Illinois have struggled with where to draw the line for crimes committed by juveniles.

    News

    Illinois Supreme Court hears argument to extend juvenile protections to age 18

    By Emily Hoerner | May 15, 2018

    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.

    Longreads

    Little hope of release for more than 160 Illinois juvenile offenders

    By Emily Hoerner and Jeanne Kuang | May 6, 2018

    Across the country, juvenile offenders are being released from prison based on recognition they are not as mature as adults. In Illinois, many who commit crimes as teenagers are still likely destined to die in custody.

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