Washington, D.C.
The Supreme Court this week ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute murderers under age 18, overturning the sentences of 70 young killers on death row. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, for the 5–4 majority, that 18 was the traditional barrier between childhood and adulthood, and was therefore “the age at which the line for death eligibility ought to rest.” The court, in 1988, banned executing killers 15 or younger, but 19 states still permitted the death penalty for people who were 16 or 17 when they committed their crimes. Justice Antonin Scalia, in a dissent, said that by overruling the policies of 19 state governments, the court was appointing itself “sole arbiter of our nation’s moral standards.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Nnela Kalu’s historic Turner Prize winTalking Point Glasgow-born artist is first person with a learning disability to win Britain’s biggest art prize
-
Bridget Riley: Learning to See – an ‘invigorating and magical ensemble’The Week Recommends The English artist’s striking paintings turn ‘concentration into reverie’
-
‘Stakeknife’: MI5’s man inside the IRAThe Explainer Freddie Scappaticci, implicated in 14 murders and 15 abductions during the Troubles, ‘probably cost more lives than he saved’, investigation claims
