Appeals are starting to roll in on behalf of convicts sentenced as teenagers to life without parole. Some will try to test the intent of the Supreme Court decision from May.
There are more than 2,000 juvenile lifers across the nation, and 90 percent were convicted of homicide, so on the surface the high court ruling would not apply to them. But advocates are focused on the majority opinion. which argues adolescent brains are not fully developed and, therefore, they have limited responsibility for their criminal actions.
So far, five juvenile lifers convicted in homicide cases have filed appeals in Pennsylania. Attorney Bradley Bridge tells Philly.com,“children are different from adults whether they're charged with a murder or whether they're charged with a robbery.”