Move would help young offenders
Before holding elective office — 12 years in the Wyoming House of Representatives and 18 years in the U.S. Senate — I served a different type of time. I was on probation for a federal offense committed as a teenager.
I stupidly risked my own life and the lives of others, and could have spent years — or perhaps my entire life — in prison. Instead, as a result of God’s grace and with the help of others, I was able to use my experiences to the benefit of my community and our nation.
I am living proof that youth possess a unique capacity to grow and change — that the child who seems hopeless today could go on to change the world.
My list of childhood offenses was long. My friends and I torched an abandoned old barracks structure. We stole bullets and shot .22 shells at inanimate objects, fired our rifles at mailboxes, and sometimes at each other to see “how close” we could come! Some of these offenses are punishable by years in prison if someone is injured and up to life in prison if someone dies.
Eventually, some of these escapades caught up with me. Federal authorities charged us with destroying government property and I pleaded guilty. I was sentenced to two years’ probation and required to make restitution. My parole officer always believed in my capacity for redemption, even when my actions did not inspire confidence. It was not until my 20s that I began to creep toward maturity. I decided I wanted to avoid further tangles with the law and become a productive member of society.
Just as redemption was possible for me, it is possible for youth who are convicted of serious crimes in the great state of Oklahoma.
I encourage the Oklahoma Legislature to ban the practice of sentencing children to life in prison without the possibility of parole. By making this change, Oklahoma would join states like mine and many others including border states Arkansas, Texas, Kansas and Colorado in implementing more age-appropriate accountability measures for children. Certainly we can — and must — hold children accountable for serious crimes while also allowing opportunities for them to prove that they deserve a second chance.
Nationwide, 20 states and the District of Columbia have banned life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed by people younger than age 18. The U.S. Supreme Court has also recognized that children are “constitutionally different” from adults, and made clear that because children’s brains are not fully developed, they are not deserving of “cruel and unusual” punishments, like life without the possibility of parole.
There is a bipartisan effort under way in Oklahoma to end life-without-parole sentences for kids. Conservative states like Texas and Arkansas have led the way in prior sessions and now Oklahoma has the opportunity to demonstrate its leadership as well. Every child has the potential for redemption and rehabilitation. After all, there but for the grace of God, go I.
Simpson, a Republican, served three terms in the U.S. Senate from Wyoming. He wrote this for the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (www. fairsentencingofyouth.org).