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BALTIMORE (AP) — The ACLU has filed a lawsuit contending that sentencing juveniles to life in prison in Maryland is unconstitutional because they don't have a meaningful chance at parole. The suit was filed Wednesday in Baltimore. It says that because no juvenile sentenced to life with parole in the last 20 years has been granted early release, the sentencing scheme does not offer young offenders a second chance they're entitled to. The attorneys argue the system that requires the court to sentence young people to life with parole "exists in name only." Because juvenile offenders are almost never granted parole, the lawsuit says their sentences violate the Eighth Amendment, which bars youthful offenders from being sentenced to life without a meaningful and realistic opportunity for release if they've shown rehabilitation.

ACLU: Life in prison for Maryland juveniles unconstitutional