[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4300 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4300

    To establish a meaningful opportunity for parole for each child 
     offender sentenced to life in prison, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 6, 2007

  Mr. Scott of Virginia (for himself and Mr. Conyers) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To establish a meaningful opportunity for parole for each child 
     offender sentenced to life in prison, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Juvenile Justice Accountability and 
Improvement Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Historically, courts in the United States have 
        recognized the undeniable differences between adult and youth 
        offenders.
            (2) In fact, while writing for the majority in Roper v. 
        Simmons (125 S. Ct. 1183), a recent Supreme Court decision 
        abolishing use of the death penalty for juveniles, Justice 
        Kennedy declared such differences to be ``marked and well 
        understood.''
            (3) Notwithstanding such edicts, many youth are being 
        sentenced in a manner that has typically been reserved for 
        adults. These sentences include a term of imprisonment of life 
        without the possibility of parole.
            (4) The decision to sentence youthful offenders to life 
        without parole is an issue of growing national concern.
            (5) While only about a dozen youth are serving such 
        sentences in the rest of the world, research indicates that 
        there are at least 2,225 youth offenders serving life without 
        parole in the United States.
            (6) The estimated rate at which the sentence is imposed on 
        children nationwide remains at least three times higher today 
        than it was fifteen years ago.
            (7) The majority of youth sentenced to life without parole 
        are first-time offenders.
            (8) Sixteen percent of these individuals were fifteen or 
        younger when they committed their crimes.
            (9) Denying such individuals the possibility of a 
        meaningful opportunity for parole is both cruel and unwise. It 
        sends a message to our youth that they are beyond 
        rehabilitation. It also demonstrates a complete lack of 
        confidence in the ability of our penal institutions to 
        accomplish one of their main goals and responsibilities.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHING A MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR PAROLE FOR CHILD 
              OFFENDERS.

    (a) In General.--For each fiscal year after the expiration of the 
period specified in subsection (d)(1), each State shall have in effect 
laws and policies under which each child offender who is under a life 
sentence receives, not less than once during the first 15 years of 
incarceration, and not less than once every 3 years of incarceration 
thereafter, a meaningful opportunity for parole. Not later than one 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
shall issue guidelines and regulations to interpret and implement this 
section. This provision shall in no way be construed to limit the 
access of child offenders to other programs and appeals which they were 
rightly due prior to the passage of this Act.
    (b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``child offender who is 
under a life sentence'' means an individual who--
            (1) is convicted of an offense committed before the 
        individual attained the age of 18; and
            (2) is sentenced to a term of natural life, or the 
        functional equivalent in years, for that offense.
    (c) Applicability.--This section applies to an individual who is 
sentenced on or after the date of the enactment of this Act as well as 
to an individual who had already been sentenced as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (d) Compliance and Consequences.--
            (1) Compliance date.--Each State shall have not more than 3 
        years from the date of enactment of this Act to be in 
        compliance with this section, except that the Attorney General 
        may grant a 2-year extension to a State that is making a good 
        faith effort to comply with this section.
            (2) Consequence of noncompliance.--For any fiscal year 
        after the expiration of the period specified in paragraph (1), 
        a State that fails to be in compliance with this section shall 
        not receive 10 percent of the funds that would otherwise be 
        allocated for that fiscal year to that State under subpart 1 of 
        part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
        Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), whether characterized as 
        the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement 
        Assistance Programs, the Local Government Law Enforcement Block 
        Grants program, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance 
        Grant Program, or otherwise.
            (3) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated under a program 
        referred to in paragraph (2) to a State for failure to be in 
        compliance with this section shall be reallocated under that 
        program to States that have not failed to be in compliance with 
        this section.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHING A PARALLEL SYSTEM FOR CHILD OFFENDERS SERVING LIFE 
              SENTENCES AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.

    In addition to any other method of early release that may apply, 
the Attorney General shall establish and implement a system of early 
release for each child offender who is under a life sentence (as 
defined in section 3) in a Federal facility. The system shall conform 
as nearly as practicable to the laws and policies required of a State 
under section 3.

SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM TO IMPROVE LEGAL REPRESENTATION OF CHILDREN 
              FACING LIFE IN PRISON.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall award grants to States 
for the purpose of improving the quality of legal representation 
provided to child defendants charged with an offense which could 
potentially subject them to the sentence of life in prison.
    (b) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``legal 
representation'' means legal counsel and investigative, expert, and 
other services necessary for competent representation.
    (c) Use of Funds.--Grants awarded under subsection (a) shall be 
used to establish, implement, or improve a system for providing 
competent legal representation to--
            (1) individuals charged with committing, before the 
        individual attained the age of 18, an offense subject to life 
        imprisonment; and
            (2) individuals convicted of, and sentenced to life for, 
        committing such an offense who seek appellate or collateral 
        relief, including review in the Supreme Court of the United 
        States.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary.
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