This decision sort of got lost in the shuffle with the immigration decision today. I think in some ways it may be more significant though.

http://newsok.com/court-bars-mandatory-life-without-parole-for-kids/article/feed/397410

It was a close and very divided decision but the right one. Heinous crimes commited by minors can become very emotional for many but you still need to consider age and immaturity when deciding on punishment.

They can still be given those penalties and in many cases will get life w/o parole. The only difference SCOTUS requires is that a judge or jury hand out that penalty. Here in this are of the country I see juries doing it based upon the severity of the offense. Make no mistake some that age need to be locked up forever. Some are incorigible and cannot be rehabilitated.

Who's to say a 16 year old can't be rehabilitated?

this was a very flawed ruling IMHO ...

this was a very flawed ruling IMHO ...

I haven't read it yet. Why's that?

I haven't read it yet. Why's that?

i very much agree with the Chief Justice's dissent his first paragraph

Determining the appropriate sentence for a teenager convicted of murder presents grave and challenging ques- tions of morality and social policy. Our role, however, is to apply the law, not to answer such questions. The pertinent law here is the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishments.” Today, the Court invokes that Amendment to ban a punishment that the Court does not itself characterize as unusual, and that could not plausibly be described as such.I therefore dissent.

if life in prison is not "cruel and unusual" even for those convicted under 18 ... then i don't see how this stands ..

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-9646g2i8.pdf

I could see arguing cruel but when it is the standard punishment for a crime it would be harder to call it unusual.

As a matter of policy, I don't know how I feel about the issue of sentencing minors to life sentences for homicide, though I lean toward thinking it's probably not a good idea.

Nevertheless, I REALLY don't see how the Eighth Amendment forbids the practice. I'm going to finish reading the opinion and the dissents, but on first glance this seems like a bad decision and another case of the justices imposing personal policy preferences rather than strictly applying the law.

the issue here was not whether life w/o potential of parole sentence could be in violation of the eighth, but instead whether making LWOP a mandatory sentence for juveniles violated the eighth. Looks like LWOP will remain a possible consideration, and can be imposed, when appropriate. It was the notion that it would always be the only appropriate sentence that created the problem. Even adults can receive life with possibility of parole. So yeah, mandatory lwop for juveniles is a bit unusual at that.

the issue here was not whether life w/o potential of parole sentence could be in violation of the eighth, but instead whether making LWOP a mandatory sentence for juveniles violated the eighth. Looks like LWOP will remain a possible consideration, and can be imposed, when appropriate. It was the notion that it would always be the only appropriate sentence that created the problem. Even adults can receive life with possibility of parole. So yeah, mandatory lwop for juveniles is a bit unusual at that.

Yep--you're right. Good catch and thanks for correcting me there.

Agree with the above. It seems that they didn't say they couldn't get life without parole, just that it couldn't be a mandatory sentence. These seems right. Take it on an individual, case by case basis if the punishment fits the crime. Never have understood the rather arbitrary age thing. Commit the crime the day before you reach a certain age and you get off with a relative slap on the wrist (with some crimes, requiring that you be released after a certain period after that age), do it the day after and you get the chair. Seems like incentive for the underaged to commit all sorts of crimes...sow all of your wild oats while you are young