SCOTUS: 8th Amendment "does not permit a juvenile offender to be sentenced to life in prison"

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Held: The Clause does not permit a juvenile offender to be sentenced to life in prison without parole for a nonhomicide crime.

KENNEDY, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which STEVENS, GINSBURG, BREYER, and SOTOMAYOR, JJ., joined. STEVENS, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which GINSBURG and SOTOMAYOR, JJ., joined. ROBERTS, C. J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. THOMAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which SCALIA, J., joined, and in which ALITO, J., joined as to Parts I and III. ALITO, J., filed a dissenting opinion.

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-7412.pdf

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1. Good to see Sotomayor voting with the reasonable folks

[NJmaverick]

9. I never doubted that she would

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11. Lets hope Kagan does as well

[NJmaverick]

13. I have no doubt she will do as well. The President has made it very

clear the type of judges he thinks are good for the Supreme Court. Those are judges in the Stevens mold.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

2. Punishists foaming at the mouth in 5... 4... 3...

[Junkie Brewster]

3. Nice to see some sanity from the Supremes N/T

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4. Stevens, Sotomayor and Ginsburg write a concurring opinion just to respond to Thomas et al

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5. "THOMAS’ rigid interpretation of the Amendment."

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6. "While JUSTICE THOMAS would apparently not rule out adeath sentence for a $50 theft by a 7-year-old"

smack down.

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7. "Standards of decency have evolved since 1980. They will never stop doing so."

[depakid]

28. Really?

You certainly wouldn't know it from the behavior in (and by) the United States.

Back in 1980, the nation still ran juvenile courts under the doctrines of Parens Patriae and in loco parentis.

There are reasons why America (along with Somalia) won't ratify the 1995 Convention on the Rights of the Child-

[hyphenate]

25. Thomas is rigid, period

He always seems to have a hard on for masochism. Maybe, once upon a time, he pictured Anita Hill as a dominatrix. ;)

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8. NYT: Justices Bar Life Terms for Youths Who Haven’t Killed

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that juveniles who commit crimes in which no one is killed may not be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The ruling expanded a principle the court has never endorsed outside the death penalty — that an entire class of offenders may be immune from a given form of punishment.

Five justices, in an opinion by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, agreed that the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment forbids sentences of life without parole as a categorical matter for juvenile offenders who do not participate in homicides...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/us/politics/18court.html

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10. CNN: "Terrance Graham was sentenced to life without parole for robberies committed when he was 16.."

Life for robberies at the age of 16 and 17?

[defendandprotect]

12. Positive sign, I hope -- !!

[11 Bravo]

14. Roberts is turning out even worse than I had feared.

That apple-cheeked, aw-shucks, lying horseshit he offered before the judiciary committee has now been tossed aside, as he feels free to say, "Fuck everybody. I'm a corporate whore, and you have no rights whatsoever."

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15. Well in this case he sided for rights

[Tsiyu]

16. Mercy Me

Thanks for the post

[Arkana]

17. Wow. Roberts AGREED?

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20. In a very limited way but still good for him

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21. And, you know, he is clearly more moderate than Alito, granted only slightly so

[Pushed To The Left]

18. Most important benefit from Obama's victory in 2008

If McCain/Palin had chosen the last SCOTUS replacement, we would probably be seeing more kids sentenced as adults for non-lethal crimes. Now, if only one of the RW 4 would have to step down during President Obama's term..

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

19. Bacon for Scalia!

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22. I so hope that happens

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23. delete, wrong case

[WeDidIt]

24. What shocks me in this, apparently Sotamayor convinced Roberts

Picked it off to a 6-3 decision.

Amazing.

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26. I hope she serves for 35 years

[me b zola]

27. Now we need the Supremes to acknowledge that juveniles should not be locked up with adults

...EVER.