Juvenile Lifers Get a Second Chance

The Takeaway | Jul 28, 2017

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview.

In 2016, the United States Supreme Court -- which had already ruled that juveniles could no longer be sentenced to life in prison without parole -- determined that current juvenile life sentences could be up for review. The ruling also sparked a chance to pardon the sentences of offenders, some who have served terms of more than 50 years.

The Associated Press is launching a three-part series examining how states are heading in different directions when it comes to handling these cases, and exposing a system that can seem arbitrary when it comes down to either parole or remaining locked up for life.

Sharon Cohen, national writer for the Associated Press, brings The Takeaway the story of Bobby Hines, a Detroit resident who was sent to jail at the age of 15 in the late 1980s. Hines is scheduled to be paroled in September.

This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich.

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