JUNEAU — A U.S. Supreme Court ruling stating juveniles cannot automatically be sentenced to life in prison without parole has not been an issue in Alaska.
Kaci Schroeder is an assistant attorney general with the Alaska Department of Law, and says the state does not have life without parole for juveniles.
She says that in talking with senior prosecutors and in her research, she could not find that there was ever such a sentence. She says Alaska appears to have consistently had definite terms of imprisonment.
Five years ago, the Supreme Court barred mandatory life-without-parole sentences for anyone younger than 18 convicted of murder. Last year, the court made its ruling retroactive, saying the more than 2,000 offenders serving such sentences must get a chance at resentencing. Many states are grappling with the issue.
