Bill would give teen convicts second chance

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —

A Senate panel will consider a proposed law that allows some inmates who were sentenced to life imprisonment as teenagers to get a "second chance." The Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee is set to take up the bill (SB 212) on Wednesday. It would provide an opportunity to be resentenced for those who serve at least 25 years of a life sentence — if it's for a crime other than homicide. The state has nearly 200 inmates who might qualify.

The measure is in response to a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that teenagers can't be locked up for life without chance of parole if they haven't killed anyone. That case involved a Florida teen who is now 25 and was imprisoned on armed robbery convictions. Florida abolished parole.

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