MASS INJUSTICE: HELP END MASS INCARCERATION IN THE USA
Case Action: Urge Louisiana to Grant Clemency to Taurus Buchanan
In 1992, Taurus Buchanan was 16 years old and was preparing food for a bus trip to New York with a
gospel group and his father. When Taurus went outside to check on his cousin,
Colin, he saw that Colin was arguing and fighting with another young man,
Jacque Brown. Another young man from the neighborhood, Mario, joined
Colin in the fight with Brown. Taurus then stepped into the middle of the fight
and threw one punch at Jacque Brown, killing him, something he never
intended to do.
Taurus was charged as an adult and convicted of second degree murder by a
vote of 10-2 on February 9, 1994. He was given a mandatory sentence of life
imprisonment with hard labor without the possibility of probation, parole, or
suspension of sentence. All of his attempts for post-conviction relief through
the Louisiana Courts have been denied. Taurus is held at the Louisiana State
Penitentiary, a maximum security facility otherwise known as “Angola Prison”.
Since being incarcerated, Taurus obtained his high school equivalency diploma
in 1996 and has taken advantage of every educational program available to him in the prison, where he
obtained 29 skill-based certificates, including becoming a carpenter and being active in the church
community as a Junior Deacon. He has volunteered and been an integral member of the Juvenile
Awareness Program, through which he counseled many young people by teaching them about the
mistakes he made. He was especially recognized by program leaders for his positive influence on young
people through this work. In relation to his other inmates, he has acted as an inmate counsel substitute,
providing legal assistance to numerous inmates unable to afford an attorney and has worked in
numerous positions throughout the prison. In 2010, Taurus married his now-wife, Deborah, who first
met Taurus when she visited Angola in 2009 with a Christian group. Should he be released, he plans on
living with Deborah and finding work as a carpenter.
The United States is believed to stand alone in sentencing children to life without parole (JLWOP).
Although several countries technically permit the practice, Amnesty International knows of no cases
outside the U.S. where such a sentence has been imposed in recent years. Children can commit terrible
crimes, and they should be held to account, but in a way that reflects their capacity for rehabilitation. At
least 2,500 people in the United States in 38 states – including in Louisiana – are serving life
imprisonment without the possibility of parole for crimes committed when they were under18 years
old. Recognition of the special attributes of children lie behind the international prohibition on the use
of life without parole for anyone who was under 18 years old at the time of the crime, whatever the
crime. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which the USA ratified in 1992,
specifically acknowledges the need for special treatment of children in the criminal justice system and
emphasizes the importance of their rehabilitation. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
expressly prohibits life imprisonment without the possibility of release for crimes committed by people
under 18 years old. The United States is the last remaining member state of the UN to not ratify the CRC.
In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited imposing sentences of life without parole for juveniles
convicted of crimes other than murder. And, in a 2012 case, Miller v Alabama, the Supreme Court
outlawed mandatory life imprisonment without parole for juvenile offenders, relying on the Eighth
Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The Court ruled that mandatory sentencing
prevents the ability to take into account the characteristics associated with children, including their “lack
of maturity and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility, leading to recklessness, impulsivity, and
heedless risk-taking,” their vulnerability to negative influences and pressures, and their particular
capacity for change and development. However it took an additional three and a half years before the
Court ruled that its decision in Miller applies retroactively to those already serving the sentence at the
time of the decision in Montgomery v. Alabama in 2016. While several states initially responded to
Miller by removing the sentence as an option for children altogether, Louisiana maintained the life
without parole sentence as an option for juveniles moving forward, and, in 2013, the Louisiana Supreme
Court ruled that Miller did not apply retroactively. In June 2013, Louisiana passed House Bill 152, which
made it possible for youth already convicted of homicide-related offenses to become eligible for parole
after serving at least 35 years behind bars should they meet certain criteria, such as obtaining a high
school equivalency diploma and not committing any disciplinary infractions for the 12 months preceding
an application for parole, among others. Had Louisiana responded to Miller by removing the sentence as
an option for juveniles and implemented a system to review all of the existing cases by using the criteria
laid out in Miller, Taurus undoubtedly would be a candidate for release.
Recently, the Marshall Project and Mother Jones wrote an in depth article on Taurus’ case and the NY
Times Editorial Board wrote an opinion piece calling for Taurus’ release.
Taurus was granted a hearing on his application for commutation of sentence by the Louisiana Board of
Pardons and Parole on February 16, 2016. In the interests of justice, Amnesty International is supporting
Taurus’ application to reduce his sentence.
TAKE ACTION
Please contact Sheryl M. Ranatza, Board Chair of the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole, urging the
board to grant clemency to Taurus Buchanan:
 Write and mail a letter, using the sample on the following page as a guide. It also contains the
mailing address
 Fax your letter as well to (225) 342 - 2289
 Call Sheryl M. Ranatza’s office at (225) 342 – 5421
 E-mail the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole from our online action at
http://www.amnestyusa.org/TaurusBuchanan
 Please let us know if you took action so that we can add it to our tally and use the action numbers in
our follow-up advocacy. E-mail [email protected].
Sheryl M. Ranatza
Board Chair
Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole
P.O. Box 94304
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
Honorable Sheryl Ranatza,
I am writing to you out of deep concern for 39 year old Taurus Buchanan, who has been serving a life sentence
without the possibility of parole for a crime that he committed when he was 16 years old. His sentence is
incompatible with international human rights law and principles of juvenile justice respected across the globe. I
urge you to approve Taurus Buchanan’s application for commutation of sentence.
In 1992 Taurus Buchanan was charged with second degree murder, and automatically tried in adult criminal court despite being only 16 years old. If he was tried in juvenile court, factors such as his age, his upbringing and his
amenability to rehabilitation could have been considered. He was convicted of second degree murder and given a
mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Imposing such a sentence on anyone
under the age of 18 is in direct violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which
the USA ratified in 1992.
Furthermore, on June 25, 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed mandatory life imprisonment without the
possibility of parole for offenders who were under 18 years old in Miller v. Alabama. It took an additional three
and a half years for the Court to rule that its decision in Miller applies retroactively to individuals like Taurus. Had
Louisiana responded to Miller by removing the sentence as an option for juveniles and implemented a system to
review all of the existing cases by using the criteria laid out in Miller, Taurus undoubtedly would be a candidate for
release. We hope that the tremendous strides Taurus has made in bettering himself while serving a life term will
help move you to act in the interest of justice.
In calling on you to approve Taurus’ application, I also acknowledge the gravity of his crime and certainly do not
mean to suggest that young people under the age of 18 should be excused from all wrongdoing. To the contrary,
the question of accountability should be addressed in a manner that reflects that juvenile offenders like Taurus are
not fully mature and still have the capacity to develop and grow. When children come into conflict with criminal
law, our primary objective as a society should be maximizing their potential for successful reintegration into
society. To deny the possibility of release is to deny the human capacity to change, and is utterly incompatible with
the basic principles of juvenile justice.
Taurus Buchanan has obtained a high school equivalency diploma. He has obtained many skills-based certificates
including a certificate in carpentry, a profession he would like to enter should he be released. He mentors youth
through the Juvenile Awareness Program, whereby he counseled many young people by teaching them about the
mistakes he made. He was even recognized for his positive influence on the youth involved with the program.
Should he be released, he plans on living with his wife, Deborah, who he married in 2010 and find work as a
carpenter. Now 39 years old, Taurus Buchanan has been incarcerated for more than 22 years and has expressed
deep remorse for his crime. He has accepted full responsibility.
In closing, I again ask that you act swiftly on Taurus Buchanan’s application for commutation of sentence and end a
sentence that is totally incompatible with international human rights law and standards pertaining to juvenile
justice, as well as the respect for inherent human dignity enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Sincerely,