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Tanaka Criminal Law Casebook
Resource 2 . 4 . 1
39 minutes

Graham v. Florida

Elizabeth Tanaka

In response to Graham, Miller, and related cases, Connecticut amended § 54-125a to increase juvenile offenders' access to parole hearings.  

In short, § 54-125a(f) allows inmates who committed their crimes while less than 18 years old a chance for an accelerated parole hearing. 

For those sentenced to less than 50 years, the statute allows for a hearing after they serve 60% of their sentence or 12 years (whichever is greater).  Those sentenced to more than 50 years become eligible after serving 30 years.

This rule primarily helps those who were previously parole ineligible due to convictions for murder.  It also helps those who were convicted of violent crimes, for which parole eligibility usually begins after 85% of the sentence is served.  (Nonviolent crimes in Connecticut typically result in eligibility after 50% of the sentence is served, so sentences would be unaffected by the new rule.)

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
560 U.S. 48, 130 S. Ct. 2011, 176 L. Ed. 2d 825, 2010 U.S. LEXIS 3881, SCDB 2009-049
No. 08-7412
2010-05-17

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