Public Perceptions of Life Without Parole for Juvenile Offenders

This study will research public perceptions of life without parole (LWOP) for juvenile offenders by gauging levels of support for juvenile LWOP adult LWOP. It will also focus on if there is a certain age that the public feels are appropriate to sentence a juvenile to LWOP. A nationally representative sample of adult and youth will be used to gauge opinions using a randomized controlled vignette study design to measure support or lack thereof for juvenile LWOP. Results will identify how much the public supports LWOP for adult and juvenile offenders, as well as the youngest age person can be before receiving and LWOP sentence. Furthermore, the results will indicate if individuals believe these specific factors are enough to eliminate juvenile LWOP.