Court Ponders Life Sentences for Juveniles

After previously deciding that the death penalty was unconstitutional for juveniles, making it possible for cold-blooded mass killers like D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to avoid execution, the U.S. Supreme Court is now considering whether or not life sentences for juveniles are cruel and unusual punishment.

Approximately 111 juveniles in the U.S. are currently serving life sentences.

The court heard arguments from two Florida cases in which the defendants received life sentences. One involved a 13-year-old who raped an elderly woman and the other a 17-year-old who took part in a home-invasion armed robbery while he was on probation for another violent crime.

Their attorneys told justices that a life sentence "unfairly condemned adolescents to die in prison and rejected any hope that they could change and could be rehabilitated."

A Constitutional Right to Hope?

Justice Anthony Kennedy questioned the logic of that argument. "Why does a juvenile have a constitutional right to hope, but an adult does not?" Kennedy asked.

Other justices appeared reluctant to set hard and fast rules for sentencing of juveniles for crimes other than homicide.

Chief Justice John Roberts said the court should allow the sentencing judge to use his judgment on a case-by-case basis, rather than draw strict sentencing guidelines.

"It avoids all of the line-drawing problems we've been discussing," Roberts said.

A ruling is expected on the issue before the middle of next year.

See Also:
Supreme Court Considers Life in Prison for Juveniles

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