On the heels of a landmark Supreme Court decision this spring, progressive lawmakers are scrambling across the country to challenge the practice of sentencing juveniles to life in prison. In Nebraska, State Senator Brenda Council is hoping the SOCTUS ruling will propel her second attempt at legislation banning juvenile life without parole. She knows her view on the matter is unpopular in her state, having pulled a similar measure out of the lineup last year when she knew it was doomed to fail. But, she’s committed to the cause and so are several groups in the state—ready to step out as leaders in juvenile justice reform.

This past week, Sen. Council and local organizations including the Nebraska Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Youth and the Voices For Children In Nebraska gathered to discuss how best to promote their agenda, how to get supporters in a state that is largely attached to a sort of no mercy ideology, even among juveniles. There’s no doubt the battle will be an uphill climb, though some pressure from activists across the country and Change.org members could certainly help.

The Nebraska state prison system is relatively small—with an average daily population somewhere around 4,500. And of these thousands of inmates, only 26 were sentenced to life in prison for offenses committed as youth. Nebraska is one of the few states that allows children as young as 13 to be sentenced to life without parole, kids arguably not even old enough to understand the gravity of homicide, let alone make a conscious, rational decision to commit it.

 While opponents of this and similar measures will undoubtedly hear “Free all the killer kids!”—that isn’t hardly what this is about. This is about giving children an opportunity to show their rehabilitation by providing them a chance at parole. This isn’t a guarantee of future release, merely the hope that if you do right and learn from your mistakes you will have a chance to show such progress to a parole board. Ultimately, it would be the parole board’s choice to grant release or withhold it.

Show your support for Nebraskans who want to end juvenile life without parole by signing this petition and forwarding it to your friends.  As Douglas A. Berman points out over at Sentencing Law and Policy, Nebraska is a unicameral system. This means Council will only need to convince 29 out of 49 Nebraska lawmakers to pass her bill. Send an email to each of the Nebraska Legislators today. 

Photo Credit: Thomas Beck