The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of five prisoners who were given life sentences when they were juveniles. The A-C-L-U wants a federal judge to ensure any prison given a life sentence as a juvenile has what it calls a “meaningful and realistic” chance at parole. One of the five, Thaddeus Karow, has been turned down for release six times. The suit filed Tuesday alleges state law doesn’t establish standards for the parole commission to use when deciding whether a prisoner deserves to be released on parole.
