Commonwealth v. Mattis: A Win for Emerging Adults and Neuroscience

Miller v. Alabama, decided by the US Supreme Court in 2012, banned mandatory life without parole sentencing for juveniles (17 and younger). A year later, in Diatchenko, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) decided that even discretionary life without parole sentencing for juveniles violated the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. Mattis, decided by the SJC in January of this year, goes even further and extends Diatchenko to emerging adults (ages 18-20), making Mass. the first state in the country to extend this kind of protection to emerging adults. Come learn about this historic decision and its implications from two lawyers who argued this case to the SJC, one neuroscientist who testified as an expert witness to the SJC, and one formerly incarcerated individual who was paroled pursuant to Diatchenko. Lunch provided! Sponsored by PLAP.