Still Waiting for a Second Chance
Oklahoma’s juvenile life without parole prisoners struggle to get attorneys, new hearings
Part 1: An investigation by The Frontier found that many Oklahoma prisoners serving life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles have struggled to get their cases reopened for a new sentencing hearing or even get access to an attorney— a potential violation of their constitutional rights.
Just seven out of 43 prisoners serving life without parole for juvenile convictions in Oklahoma have been re-sentenced under new standards laid out by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Robert Mitchell’s prison photos from 2000 and 2016.
Oklahoma prosecutors seek life without parole again in most juvenile cases up for review
Part 2: Although the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that life without parole should be reserved only for the worst juvenile offenders who are beyond rehabilitation, Oklahoma prosecutors are seeking life without parole again in six of the eight pending juvenile cases that have been granted new sentencing hearings.
Convicted of murder at age 15 in 1983, Wayne Thompson has been trying to win parole in Oklahoma for the past 20 years. COURTESY
Oklahoma rarely paroles violent offenders
Part 3: Juvenile no-parole prisoners resentenced to life with the possibility of parole are still unlikely to win release in Oklahoma. The state rarely paroles violent offenders. Five of the seven Oklahoma juvenile life without parole prisoners who have been resentenced are now serving life terms.
Additional content:
Convicted of murder as a teenager, Dana Barker now hopes for freedom
Inmates in Oklahoma prisons serving life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles
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