This bill amends New Jersey's three strikes law to ensure that it only applies to individuals over the age of 18 at the time of their offenses. Specifically, it introduces new language stating that prior convictions for crimes committed while the individual was a juvenile will not count as predicate offenses for the purpose of imposing life imprisonment without parole. The bill also defines a juvenile as anyone under the age of 18. This change is intended to provide judges with the discretion to consider the age and circumstances of the defendant when determining appropriate sentencing, rather than automatically imposing a life sentence based on prior juvenile convictions.

The bill is a response to the New Jersey Supreme Court's decision in *State v. Ryan*, which ruled that juvenile convictions could be considered as strikes under the three strikes law. By excluding juvenile offenses from this law, the bill aims to align with constitutional protections against excessive punishment, as highlighted in Justice Albin's dissent in the *Ryan* case. The proposed changes are designed to ensure that individuals are not subjected to life sentences without the possibility of parole solely based on their juvenile records, allowing for a more nuanced approach to sentencing that takes into account the defendant's age and individual circumstances.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 2C:43-7.1