SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Juveniles sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole could get a second chance under legislation approved by the state Senate.
Sen. Leland Yee's bill would let courts review life sentences after 15 years. It passed 21-16 on Wednesday.
SB 9 would allow judges to reduce sentences to 25 years-to-life for offenders who show remorse and are working to be rehabilitated.
It now goes to the Assembly, where a similar bill died last year.
Yee, a San Francisco Democrat, says about 275 California inmates are serving life terms for crimes committed before they were 18. He says the United States is the only nation that lets children be sentenced to life without parole.
Opponents say the state should be more concerned about the victims of the offenders' crimes.
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