House lawmakers are pushing for a bill that would revise the state’s sentencing standards for offenders who were committed to serve sentences when they were minors.

Among the measure’s many provisions is a proposal to abolish sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole for minors, which advocates say has been deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We don’t allow children to vote under the age of 18, enter into contracts, buy tobacco or alcohol, or even work in certain industries because we recognize their immaturity and lack of decision-making ability," said Rep. Karen Awana (D, Kalaeloa-Ko Olina-Maili), who introduced the bill. "This bill aligns with other aspects in our society and in our culture," Awana said during a press conference Wednesday at the state Capitol.

Currently four Hawaii inmates would be affected by the life imprisonment provision, according to lawmakers.

Christiaan Mitchell, a University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law student who is part of a group of students advocating for the rights of children, said, "Juvenile life without parole is an irrational and cruel punishment that is scientifically unfounded. It’s morally unjustified, (and) it stands in clear (contradiction) of universally accepted human rights norms."

According to the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, the U.S. is the only country that allows youth to be sentenced to life without parole.

James Dold, the group’s advocacy director, was in Hawaii this week to support Awana’s proposal, House Bill 2116. He said during the news conference that children "have a unique capacity to grow and change and are more likely to be rehabilitated over time than an adult defendant."

Dold said theories that pegged child offenders as lifelong criminals have been debunked.

In the past few years, Dold said, the U.S. Supreme Court has been taking action against the harsh punishment of youth offenders. In 2012 the high court ruled that mandatory sentences of life in prison without parole for youth offenders are unconstitutional; two years before that, it agreed to strike down life-without-parole sentences for youth that had not committed a homicide; and in 2005 justices invalidated death penalty sentences for youth.

States have been following suit: Texas, Wyoming, Kentucky, Kansas, Alaska, Colorado andCalifornia have eliminated life-without-parole sentences for their youth offenders, lawmakers said.

Rep. Mele Carroll (D, Lanai-Molokai-Paia-Hana), chairwoman of the House HumanServices Committee, said she believes minors deserve second chances especially since many are victims themselves.

"More than 80 percent of juveniles sentenced to life without parole have witnessed violence in their own homes," she said. "More than 50 percent have witnessed violence on a regular basis in their neighborhoods, more than 50 percent have been physically abused and more than 20 percent have been sexually abused with that rate going up to 80 percent in the case of female juvenile offenders."

Kat Brady, a longtime advocate for incarcerated youth and coordinator for the Community Alliance on Prisons, said research has proved that the brain’s frontal lobe, which is responsible for emotions and personality, isn’t fully developed until a person is in their early to mid-20s.

"Just because somebody looks physically mature doesn’t mean that their brains are actually cognizant of the consequences of their actions," she said. "To sentence a child to life without parole is not only cruel, but it’s really counterproductive because they will grow up in a prison, and (that) is not the kind of environment that actually develops healthy people."