June 9, 2023
Daniel Keating testified about adolescent brain development in the case of a juvenile lifer
Shawn M. Commire was 16 when he and his cousin murdered Rita M. Salogar. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2008. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences for those 17 and younger is a form of cruel and unusual punishment and thus unconstitutional. Daniel Keating testified in a hearing to determine whether Commire should receive a term-of-years sentence. Keating described the adolescent brain as “all accelerator, no brakes…There is no credible scientific evidence that says you can predict rehabilitation while the individual is in the adolescent phase.”