Why are we sentencing children to life in prison without parole?

Since the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in Miller v. Alabama , which barred mandatory life without parole sentences for children, the list of states that banned life without parole for children has nearly quadrupled, with conservative states such as West Virginia, Utah, and Arkansas leading the way.

In 2011, it was legal to sentence children to life without parole in all but five states. Today, 19 states and the District of Columbia ban the practice.

These reforms are crucial because they bring hope of a second chance to those told as children that their lives were worth so little that they would die in prison. They also speak to the capacity for growth and change that often defines youth.