In re Taylor (Juvenile LWOP Resentencing)

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California has asked the Supreme Court of California to provide justice for people unlawfully sentenced as teenagers to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Named in the habeas corpus petition is Leif Taylor, who was sentenced to die in prison for a crime committed when he was 16. Now 39, he is just one of about 250 people who may be entitled to resentencing.

In 2014, the California Supreme Court held that for 20 years lower courts had misconstrued state law in favor of life without the possibility of parole sentences – as opposed to 25 years to life – for minors convicted of murder with a special circumstance. The court also held that lower courts failed to sufficiently consider the youth of the offenders and their capacity for change.

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California is seeking a resentencing hearing for Taylor and asking the court to clarify how others who were improperly sentenced in California can access attorneys and show that they too should resentenced under the correct interpretation of the law.

Learn more

ACLU Seeks Hearings for Kids Unlawfully Sentenced to Die in Prison (Feb. 22, 2016)