Identify and discuss the most recent U.S. Supreme Court cases that relate to the death penalty and life without parole for juveniles

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Roper v. Simmons (2005), put an end to the practice of the death penalty for juveniles in the United States. At issue was the minimum age that juveniles who were under the age of 18 when they committed their crimes could be eligible for the death penalty. In a 5–4 decision, the Court ruled that the juvenile death penalty was in violation of the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Graham v. Florida (2010), put an end to the practice of life sentences without the possibility of parole for juveniles convicted of nonhomicide crimes. In Miller v. Alabamaand Jackson v. Hobbs (2012), the Court held that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders.