Limiting executions
The week's news at a glance.
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.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to 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.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published