The Child Advocate advocated for fair sentencing for juveniles by testifying before the state legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary, signing an amicus brief on behalf of former juvenile court judges, and publishing an op-ed in the New York Times regarding abolishing juvenile life sentences without the possibility of parole. On June 25, 2012, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Miller v. Alabama, ruling that mandatory life without parole sentences for those under the age of 18 at the time of their offenses violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The Commonwealth has an opportunity to enact legislation that embraces the spirit of the Miller decision and ensures that each youth under eighteen receives an individualized sentencing hearing. This hearing would include evidence of the circumstances of the offense, the background and characteristics of the youth, and, as stated by Justice Kagan, "how children are different, and how those differences mitigate against irrevocably sentencing them to a lifetime in prison."