Supreme Court conservatives reject restrictions on juvenile life without parole

The Supreme Court.
(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Brett Jones in Jones v. Mississippi on Thursday, effectively ruling a judge need not find "permanent incorrigibility" before condemning a juvenile offender to life in prison without parole.

Declining to impose sentencing restrictions is a blow to precedent, say some analysts and the court's liberal justices, and signals both the court's abandonment of certain juvenile protections and its move toward the ideological right.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.