The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on sentencing juveniles convicted of murder to life in prison with no possibility of parole. Justice Scalia reminded the Court that many states allow it and “the American people…have decided that’s the rule.” But Justice Ginsburg suggested such sentencing makes a juvenile “a throw-away person.” More →

May 25, 2012

On November 9, a divided Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases about just punishment for juveniles convicted of non-homicide offenses. Are life sentences imposed on juvenile offenders cruel and unusual? More →

November 13, 2009

  BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: We have a powerful story today about punishment for juveniles who commit crimes. The Supreme Court has thrown out the death penalty for such young people, but in 44 states they can still be sentenced to … More →

January 30, 2009

In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that executing people for crimes they committed before the age of 18 is unconstitutional. The case that brought the issue to the Supreme Court involved a young Missouri man named Chris Simmons. More →

March 4, 2005

Should juveniles ever be executed? In 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that states could execute offenders as young as 16 if they chose to. But attitudes appear to be shifting, and the case now coming before the court could end that practice for good. More →

October 1, 2004