A decision handed down by the Iowa Supreme Court last week has caused some debate about sentencing serious juvenile criminals to long-term sentences.

Three cases were reviewed by Iowa’s high court and it was determined that those cases could receive reduced sentences.  Each one of those cases dealt with a then juvenile being convicted of a serious crime and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, one of which was for life without parole, are now eligible for appeal for parole.

The court’s decision has caused concern for Iowa lawmaker house district 47 representative Chip Baltimore who is the House Judiciary Chair.

“The courts have to look at a variety of factors before they determine what an appropriate sentence is.  And it’s a little frustrating from the Legislative perspective because the Legislature is expected to set criminal sentencing that’s uniform across the board.”

Baltimore says he supports the court’s determination of the constitutionality of crimes, but he fears that they’ve open Pandora’s Box in terms of interpreting prison sentences for juvenile crimes.

He adds that discussions must take place with other legislators to figure out how to reset policies to determine sentencing juvenile criminals because ultimately what he doesn’t want is someone being released back into society too soon to have a chance to harm the public as a repeat offender.