Making Youth Matter

Abstract: Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the United States. The harm caused by this public health crisis falls disproportionately on Black and Brown youth. While it is broadly accepted that children are less blameworthy than adults for their criminal behavior, what does this mean when they have access to and use guns? The Supreme Court held that youth matters when juveniles face life without parole sentences because children are different from adults—they fail to appreciate risks and consequences; are more impulsive; more susceptible to peer and family influence; less able to remove themselves from dysfunctional home environments; less able to deal with police and prosecutors and assist their own attorneys; and more capable of change. Do these differences matter when juveniles face lengthy adult prison sentences for crimes involving guns? How? Based on decisions and resentencing data gathered in Washington State resulting from the extension of Miller v. Alabama to all juveniles facing adult sentences, this Article explores the challenges of making youth matter in a criminal legal system where participants have grown accustomed to addressing the public health crisis of gun violence through extreme prison terms for mostly Black and Brown youth. This Article makes recommendations for how the “Miller factors” can be applied to make youth matter in cases of gun violence. Children who have and use guns are less culpable than adults, not just because they are developmentally different from adults, but because they are dependent on adults to keep them safe from guns. Making youth matter requires acknowledging our society’s culpability for failing to protect children from guns, including the children who use them.