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Editorials Praise Graham Ruling

By Steve Hall

Today's New York Times carries the editorial, "A New Standard of Decency." Monday?s welcome Supreme Court decision, banning sentences of life without parole for juvenile criminals who do not commit murder, recognizes that children mature and should not be irrevocably punished for a childhood act short of killing. But it also recognizes that nations mature ? that standards of justice and constitutional principles change over the centuries and should be reinterpreted by new generations. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for a five-member majority, acknowledged that permanent life sentences for juveniles might not have been historically recognized as cruel and unusual punishment but should now be considered unconstitutional because of ?evolving standards of decency...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on May 18, 2010 (boomark / email).