Symbolic Struggles in Advocating for Juveniles Sentenced to Life Without Parole

This paper examines the history of Juvenile Life Without Parole sentencing, both at the state level in Illinois and at the federal level, with particular attention to the power of symbolic framing and to the continued importance of two dominant frames: the juvenile 'super-predator' and the child. Paying attention to the particular actions of state actors, this paper will investigate the central role that class and race have played in the symbolic construction of these tropes, in order to understand how state actors became the vehicles to translate class and race schemas into policy. Finally, it is my hope that this analysis will also inform the efforts of advocates—social workers, mitigation specialists, defense attorneys, and the families and communities of those serving natural life sentences—as they engage, challenge, and strategically take up the symbolic and material tools that have shaped this policymaking.