Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf
Senate Box 203012
Harrisburg, PA 17120-3012

RE: Juveniles Sentenced To Life Without Parole in Pennsylvania

Dear Honorable Stewart J. Greenleaf:

Pennsylvania presently leads the nation in the amount of juvenile offenders sentenced to life without parole according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "How Pennsylvania Teens End Up Put Away For Life" (2/19/07) and Human Rights Watch annual national statistics.

I am sending you this letter urging you to consider expressing support or sponsoring a bill providing retroactive parole opportunities for juvenile offenders sentenced to life without parole. The general public, I believe, would be receptive to providing parole opportunities to inmates that were children when they committed or participated in their crimes. Children should not be put away for the rest of their natural and productive lives for terrible and immature decisions they made in their youth. They should be punished but the door should not be slammed on their lives.

The extension of parole opportunities to "juvenile lifers" would only provide a opportunity for parole that the inmate would have to demonstrate he or she is worthy of being granted. In addition, the extension of parole opportunities to the 400 life sentenced inmates who were children when they committed or participated in their crimes, would alleviate Pennsylvania's growing lifer population that is topping 5,000 inmates and costing the state and tax payers a large amount of money. I believe this is a just measure that the public would be receptive to and urge you to support it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and consider this request.

Sincerely,
/s/____________________