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Risk assessment and juvenile resentencing: A critical analysis
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Risk assessment and juvenile resentencing: A critical analysis

Shelby Arnold, Dan Flack and Kirk Heilbrun
Behavioral sciences & the law, v 36(5), pp 576-586
Sep 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2375
PMID: 30338552
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Recent United States Supreme Court decisions in Miller v. Alabama (2012) and Montgomery v. Louisiana (2016) have created the need to resentence individuals who received a sentence of mandatory life without parole (LWOP) for offenses committed when they were younger than 18 years old. Neither of these decisions explicitly cite reoffense risk as a sentencing criterion, but a careful reading of the reasoning in these cases suggests that such a risk should be among the considerations addressed by resentencing courts. If so, important theoretical and scientific questions are raised about the nature of risk assessment tools, in particular the distinction between static and dynamic risk factors. Additionally, the novelty of LWOP resentencing raises further questions about the applicability of these tools to individuals who have been incarcerated for long periods of time. We address these questions, call for additional research on dynamic risk factors, and offer recommendations for professionals involved in these types of assessments.

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4 citations in Web of Science
6 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Web of Science research areas
Law
Psychology, Applied
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