Qu'eed Batts will soon be scheduled for his third sentencing hearing. His long and torturous journey through the criminal justice system has placed him right smack in the middle of a judicially driven realignment of juvenile punishment.

Batts was convicted of first-degree murder for a gang-related killing he committed as a 14-year-old. He was sentenced to life without parole in 2007. His case ultimately made it to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court where it was remanded to the trial court for resentencing.

In 2014, Batts was again sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His case made its way back to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court where last month the court said, “We are now in the undesirable position of yet again having to remand Batts' case for resentencing.”