Earlier today the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld Omer Ninham’s life without parole. Ninham was only 14 (1998) when he committed the crime and was sentenced to life without parole in 2000.
There have been advances in our understanding of adolescent brain development since his life sentence was imposed. For example MRI studies which show that the brain is not fully developed early in childhood and that making impulsive decisions and engaging in risky behavior is an inevitable part of adolescence. As the brain matures, adolescents almost universally grow out of their impulsive and risky behavior. Along with the MRI studies there has been a growing body of research that suggest that alcohol causes more damage to developing teenage brains than previously thought. Ninham was a serious substance abuse user who snorted cocaine on a weekly basis and since grade school, consumed alcohol daily and frequently to the point of unconsciousness.
In the years succeeding his sentence in 2000, in the Roper and Graham decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court has found the death sentence to be a form of cruel and unusual punishment for juveniles; and so is life with out parole for juveniles convicted of any crime short of homicide. The language in those US Supreme Court decisions seems to support the notion that someone as young as Omer should not be sentenced to die in prison (the harshest sentence possible in Wisconsin), but the majority of this court did not interpret it that way.
The majority opinion was written by Justice Annette Ziegler and she wrote “Under the circumstances of this case, Ninham’s punishment is severe, but is not disproportionately so.” A dissenting opinion, by Chief Justice Abrahamson and concurred in by Justice Bradley, gives credence to the evolving standard of decency about how to treat youthful offenders – even those who commit the most serious crimes. We hope and believe that this decision will be appealed and, along with others in other states, will help advance the understanding of what justice should be about.
