Hearing examines life terms for minors

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Lawmakers say Pennsylvania sentences more juveniles to life in prison than any other state or country.

Pennsylvania has no minimum age for a juvenile to be tried as an adult and state law doesn't allow a juvenile convicted of murder to seek parole later in life, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Monday after a state Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the issue.

In all, 433 of Pennsylvania's current inmates were sentenced to life in prison without parole for crimes committed as minors, and nearly one-fifth of the country's 2,381 juvenile "lifers" were sentenced in Pennsylvania, the Tribune reported.

"We are not up with international standards. There are better ways to address penalties for children," said Michelle Leighton, a juvenile sentencing expert, noting the United States is the only country that sentences minors to life without possibility of parole.