Children are Different: A Constitutional and Moral Call to Action

Professor Drinan critiqued the U.S. system of incarceration as applied to minors. While recent Supreme Court decisions have abolished mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles, many young offenders are still housed with adult prison populations, where the face many kinds of abuse. The Supreme Court has not clarified whether its ruling in Miller v. Alabama applies retroactively or not, and state courts and lower federal courts are split on the question. Drinan’s scholarship has focused on criminal justice reform with a particular emphasis on access to justice, juvenile justice and the death penalty. A summary of the event is available here