PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE EDITORIAL: …The ancient wisdom that children are different from adults has also influenced ideas on the extent to which children should be held responsible for their actions. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court took that enlightened view to its logical extension, finding that “children are constitutionally different.”…
By a 5-4 majority in Miller v. Alabama, the [United Sta tes Supreme Court] justices said that mandatory life sentences without possibility of parole constitute cruel and unusual punishment for defendants who are convicted and sentenced for crimes committed before their 18th birthday. ..
This case was important to Pennsylvania, which has the unsavory distinction of being home to more juvenile lifers than any other state — 48 in Allegheny County alone. But last week, to the dismay and surprise of those who care about juvenile justice, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the Supreme Court precedent did not apply to those already convicted as minors and sentenced to life… (more)
