SJC finds life in prison without parole for young killers is unconstitutional

BOSTON — In a 4-3 ruling, the state’s highest court has found that young people, aged 18-21, convicted of First-Degree Murder, cannot be sentenced to life without parole, the state’s toughest sentence.

The reason: science shows that the young brain is still developing and that young people might one day be rehabilitated.

The ruling means all young First Degree convicted killers cannot be locked up forever, but instead, must, at some point, be granted parole hearings.

The SJC decision does not immediately open the doors to young people convicted of first-degree murder.

But it does give them a pathway to freedom.

And that’s angering some victim’s family members.

“I think it revictimizes the victims’ families,” Sean Alyward told me. “They will be reliving the absolute worst days of their lives.”

In 1992, Sean Aylward’s sister, 15-year-old sister, Beth Brodie of Groveland, was beaten to death with a baseball bat.

Her former boyfriend, Richard Baldwin, a teenager, was convicted and sentenced to life without parole.

But thanks to a similar SJC ruling in 2013, Baldwin is now eligible for parole.

Aylward believes this latest SJC ruling is misguided.

“I just can’t buy into that science,” Alyward said.

But Boston defense Attorney Rosemary Scapicchio disagrees.

She represents one of the young men at the heart of the SJC’s Decision.

She said it is not a get-out-of-jail-free card.

“What the court did in this case is, it looked at the emerging science and the science supported the fact that this group, the 18 thru 21-year-olds are amenable to rehabilitation and should have the opportunity to prove that to a parole board, “Scapicchio said.

Central and Eastern Massachusetts District Attorneys say they are now reviewing their files, contacting victims’ families, and preparing for parole hearings.

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