Role of Age in Life Sentences:  New York Times writer Adam Liptak reports on two cases concerning youth life without parole being considered by the Supreme Court.  The majority of justices seemed inclined to find a way to take account of the age of young offenders in deciding whether they may be sentenced to LWOP.  Liptak reports there was disagreement over whether to draw various lines for judging youthful offenders, or whether case by case determination is the right approach.  A lawyer for Joe Sullivan, who was sentenced to life at age 13 for the rape of a 72 year old woman, asked the court to say the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment forbids such sentences for youths under 14 convicted of any crime, including murder.  In the other case, a lawyer for Terrance Graham, sentenced to life for armed burglary at 16 and a probation violation at 17, says the line should be set at 18 but only for crimes that did not involve killing.  The court's capital jurisprudence has already drawn lines, forbidding the execution of offenders under 18 in Roper v. Simmons and of people of any age for crimes against individuals other than murder last year in Kennedy v. Louisiana.  The question in these two cases is whether to extend the logic of these decision to cases outside the area of the death penalty.  Another article by the LA Times discussing the topic can be found here.

Recent Cases Ensuring Death Penalty Vitality:  Sentencing Law and Policy writer Douglas A. Berman opines on three recent cases in today's public media that highlight the public's desire to keep the death penalty.  Virginia's efforts to execute the DC sniper, the consideration of capital punishment for the Fort Hood shooter, Nadal Hassan, and Ohio's sex offender serial killer, Anthony Sowell, are three of the top news stories of the last few months.  In all three cases, the public is confronted by sociopaths who have committed multiple brutal and senseless murders that have terrorized local communities and drawn the ire of the nation as a whole.  In none of these cases is the guilt of the offender an issue, and neither is there any good chance that poor lawyering or racial bias or any other kind of procedural defect caused an unfair trial.  With three such strong examples of why we need capital punishment filling up the news channels, there is little chance that anti-death penalty activists will change the minds of Americans on the subject anytime soon.