(Image Source: SodaHead.com)

BY ERIK SHUTE

ANCHOR JIM FLINK

The Supreme Court will consider whether its fair to sentence a juvenile to life in prison without parole. KTRK explains how their Eighth Amendment right is in question.

“They agreed to examine two cases of killers who committed the crimes when they were 14. The equal justice initiative in Alabama says it's cruel and unusual punishment to sentence children to life without Parole. The group says six dozen people in 18 states are serving life without parole for crimes committed at the ages of 13 or 14.”

The two cases being reviewed are Jackson v Hobbs and Miller v Alabama. Jackson was convicted for homicide in a robbery and Miller charged with homicide after beating a 52-year-old man then setting his house on fire. (Video: WLS)

Standing alongside the convicted adolescents is The Equal Justice Initiative of Montgomery, Alabama. It claims the 14-year-olds serving life draw similarities to past cases -- and the court should follow its same logic. (from Slate)

“[The Initiative] argues that the same logic behind those two rulings—namely that minors are not as culpable for their actions as adults are, and that they have a greater chance to reform—should extend to the life sentences for those involved with killings.”

The New York Times points to the past decision, reporting last year the Supreme Court was quick to review a similar case.

“… in Graham v. Florida, the court ruled that sentencing juvenile offenders to life without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional — but only for crimes that did not involve killings. The decision affected about 130 prisoners convicted of committing crimes like rape, armed robbery and kidnapping before they turned 18.”

So, the court comes to a fork in the road -- make a complete ban on life without parole for adolescents or set an age limit. Youth Today took into account how many lives in juvenile detention hang in the balance. A complete ban on --

“Such a ruling would affect more than 2,500 current inmates. More than half of those inmates are located in four states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Louisiana and Florida.”

...and if the court bans below the age of 15 --

“Only 73 current LWOP inmates who were convicted for crimes they committed when they were 14, and nine others who were convicted when they were younger.”

But Alabama and Arkansas are urging the Supreme Court not to take up the cases -- to them, no decision is rational. Internationally, the United States is the only country in the world where young adults can receive death in prison sentences.