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States like Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania top the list of states with the most children sentenced to life imprisonment.

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued significant rulings in the last decade. In 2012, it declared mandatory life sentences for juveniles unconstitutional, and in 2016, it ruled that this ban should also be applied retroactively. However, many rulings have yet to be reviewed.

Civil organizations continue to fight for the review of these cases and the implementation of more humane policies. They propose alternatives such as restorative justice, social reintegration programs, and periodic review of sentences.

Childhood should be a place of learning and redemption, not an unlocked prison cell,” says Bryan Stevenson, a civil rights attorney.

“When we condemn a child to die in prison, we’re saying they’re incapable of change, and that flies in the face of all human and scientific logic.”

In a society constantly debating justice, security, and second chances, the case of the 79 minors sentenced to life imprisonment serves as a reminder that a nation’s humanity is also measured by how it treats its most vulnerable children.