SCOTUS Case: Life Without Parole for Teens

On March 20, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments about whether it is constitutional to sentence someone to life without the possibility of parole for a crime they committed as a juvenile-even homicide. Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v . Hobbs,  two cases involving teenage boys who committed homicide, may turn the court's reasoning based on a new understanding about brain development, which indicates that children under 18 have a diminished capacity for understanding the consequences of their action. Evan Miller and Kuntrell Jackson, the petitioners in these cases, are two of the seventy three persons serving a life without parole sentence for a crime committed by 14 year olds.

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