The United States Supreme Court ruled on May 17, 2010 that it is cruel and unusual punishment (U.S. Constitution Amendment VIII) to sentence a juvenile to life without parole for non-crimes of murder. The case presented to the justices, Graham v. Florida, was supported by research based on neuropsychology as well as multiple psychological disciplines. This unprecedented ruling recognizes that offenders, who in the eyes of the law are still children, have a more effective degree of rehabilitation than their adult counterparts. The ruling is a victory for many, but in Louisiana, where the Napoleonic Civil Code differs from America's 49 common law states, what chance of relief does it offer to those sentenced to life in prison as juveniles, whether for non-murder or or homicidal crimes? It is evident through research that the physiological, emotional, and sociocultural circumstances that children endure during crucial stages of development have a direct effect on their psychological functioning. A case currently before the Louisiana Supreme Court allows us to explore the psychological aspect of juvenile crime. The defendant, Emerson Simmons, was born in 1977 into a middle-class family with an ambitious father, a stay-at-home mother and a four-year-old sister. The family had climbed the socioeconomic ladder to upper-class status by the time their third child was born in 1982. The father was an emotionally and physically absent parent, while the mother consistently took a caring and direct approach to the family. Although both parents suffered childhood trauma, Emerson and his siblings were healthy, typically developing children with no signs of medical, psychological, or neurological disease... half of paper... Analysis." National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (2010 ): 1-193. Web.Najdowski, C.J., Bottoms, B.L. and Vargas, M.C. (2009) Juror perceptions of juvenile defendants: Influence of intellectual disability, history of abuse, and behavioral evidence from confessions Sciences & the Law, 27(3) ), 401-430. Doi:10.1002/bsl.873Rohner, Ronald P. and Robert A. Veneziano "The Importance of Paternal Love: History and Contemporary Evidence" Review of General Psychology 5.4 (2001): 382-405 . State of Louisiana v. Emerson W. Simmons. The Louisiana Juvenile Justice Project United Washington: American Government Print. Off., 1976. Print.