ACLU Appluads House Judicary Committee's Consideration of the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Act of 2007

On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a non-partisan organization with hundreds of thousands of activists and members and 53affiliates nationwide, we applaud the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security for holding a hearing on H.R.4300, the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2007. This important legislation would help to end the practice of sentencing children to life in prison without the possibility of parole and would providegrants to states to improve the quality of legal representation for youths charged with offenses that could lead to life sentences.