Two US Supreme Court decisions changed Topp's life. In 2016, the Supreme Court ruled the law should be applied to prisoners retroactively, a decision that gave Topp another chance at life in society. Topp completed rehabilitation programs, took academic courses and worked various jobs during his life in prison, court records show. Juveniles in prisonThe Sentencing Project, a national advocacy group, released a study around the time of the 2012 Supreme Court ruling . Twenty-nine states still allow juveniles to be sentenced to life without parole, with most cases in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Louisiana, according to The Sentencing Project.

Source: CNN March 01, 2019 02:58 UTC