Supreme Court rules against life without parole for minors!

U.S Supreme Court Building

In this May 17th article by the Associated Press a recent Supreme Court decision is discussed. The Supreme Court just ruled that a minor, that is somebody under the age of 18, may not be given a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a non-homicidal crime. There was also nearly a decision that a minor could not be given a life sentence without parole for any crime, including homicide, but there was a 5-4 decision against that.

This article demonstrates the Supreme Courts exercise of judicial review. By casting their 5 to 4 vote, the court ruled that teenagers may not be locked up for life without chance of parole if they haven't killed anyone. The article is also gives an example of federalism. Although the states denied these offenders any parole, the Supreme Court’s decision overrules the states’ previous decisions and displays the power the national government has over the states.

We disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision. We believe the state judges should have the authority to make their own decision on whether or not the individual (based on the specific case) should be able to get parole.


Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootbearwdc/37621686/

Grade This Post.


By: Chris D., Jackie K., and Sarah G.