A Variety of Views on Miller v. Alabama

Children in Prison for Life, New York Times

‘Elite’ Supreme Court Sides with Science and Juveniles, Jonathan Zimmerman, Christian Science Monitor

Justice for Juvenile Criminals, Denver Post

Justices Should Use More Than Their Gut and “Brain Science” to Decide a Case, Richard A. Posner, Slate

Mandatory Life Without the Possibility of Parole for Juveniles Is Unconstitutional, Joy Moses, Center for American Progress

The Roberts Court's Liberal Turn on Juvenile Justice, David S. Tanenhaus, New York Times

Shall We Lock Up a Child and Throw Away the Key?, George F. Will, Washington Post

The Supreme Court Gives (Some) Juvenile Lifers a Second Chance, Liliana Segura, Nation

Supreme Court Ruling on Juveniles is a Partial Victory, James Allen Fox, Boston Globe

Supreme Court Ruling on Life Sentences for Young Criminals, Christian Science Monitor

The U.S. Supreme Court Gives Teenage Murderers a Chance, Marni Soupcoff, National Post (Canada)

Mandatory Life Sentences for Juveniles

Today the Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision in the combined cases of Miller v. Alabama (10-9646) and Jackson v. Hobbs (10-9647). The majority opinion, written by Justice Kagen and joined by Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor, stated that "mandatory life without parole for those under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on 'cruel and unusual punishments.'"  See reports from Jurist, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, CNN Justice, Human Rights Watch, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Arizona's deadly prisons

Bob Ortega, senior investigative reporter at the Arizona Republic, has recently written a series of articles on "a prison system that houses inmates under brutal conditions that can foster self-harm, allows deadly drugs to flow in from the outside, leaves inmates to die from treatable medical conditions and fails to protect inmates from prison predators."  The individual articles cover the high number of deaths, including suicides, the struggle to control the availability of drugs in prison, the inadequate medical care prisoners receive, and the deaths that result from increasing inmate-on-inmate violence.