American Civil Liberties Union

On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a non-partisan organization with more than half million activists and members and fiftythree affiliates nationwide, we write to express our strong support for H.R. 2289, the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009, which would restore discretion to judges and juries by denying funding to states that refuse to offer a parole option to juvenile offenders and allow states to improve the quality of legal representation for youths facing potential life sentences.