Good news? I hope

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the tragedy of kids as young as 13 and 14 being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Today, the United States Supreme Court agreed to take the cases of two men who were under 18 when they were sentenced to life without parole. One, Joe Sullivan, was 13 when he was sentenced to LWOP for rape. He is now confined to a wheelchair as a result of multiple sclerosis. The other, Terrance Graham, was 17 when he took part in a violent home invasion.

I will be waiting for this oral argument with much interest. In 2005, the US Supreme Court ruled the death penalty was unconstitutional for anyone under the age of 18 at the time of the crime, citing the 8th Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. In Kansas, LWOP is not an available punishment for any juvenile, even one convicted of capital murder. I think all states should follow that same path. If a majority of the court thinks death is too harsh for juveniles, it's reasonable to think they might extend the same logic to LWOP. But the Supremes don't always (often) go the route I think they should.

I can guess how 4 of the votes on the high court are likely to go. Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, and Alito generally aren't friendly to any 8th Amendment claims, so I have no reason to think they'll like this one much, either. I would expect Stevens, Ginsburg, and Breyer, on the other hand, to be much more sympathetic to the defendants here. Kennedy is often the key vote on a case like this. And now, of course, we have the added mystery of not even knowing who the 9th justice will be.

Stay tuned.