The Supreme Court (finally) does
the civilized thing:
The Supreme Court ruled today, in one of the most closely watched capital punishment cases in years, that imposing the death penalty on convicted murderers who were younger than 18 at the time of their crimes is unconstitutional.
The 5-to-4 decision, arising from a Missouri case, holds that executing young killers violates "the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society," and that American society has come to regard juveniles as less culpable than adult criminals.
The ruling, which acknowledged "the overwhelming weight of international opinion against the juvenile death penalty," erases the death sentences imposed on about 70 defendants who were juveniles at the time they killed. Although 19 states nominally permit the execution of juvenile murderers, only Texas, Virginia and Oklahoma have executed any in the past decade.
I can imagine that the wingnuts - and especially Scalia - are berserk over the fact that the majority looked to international law in crafting its decision. All I can say is, this is the modern world we live in, and I'm glad that five justices on the Supreme Court had enough sense - and decency - to rule this way.