In Connecticut you must be 18 to vote, serve on a jury or enter into a contract.

The law recognizes that adolescents are less equipped to make important decisions than adults are. Yet in one area, state law fails to distinguish between children and adults. Connecticut sentences people to spend the rest of their lives in prison for crimes they committed before their 18th birthdays. Kids who break the law must be held accountable, but we cannot give up on the possibility that a still developing young person will reform. Justice and financial responsibility both demand a more thoughtful approach.

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