In 2012 the Supreme Court heard two related cases involving adolescents convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole because of mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines in their states.  One of the boys, Evan Miller along with an accomplice, had beat a man unconscious with a baseball bat after a fight that ensued when the man awoke to find Miller robbing him.  Miller and his friend then decided to set fire to the home to cover up the evidence.  This resulted in the man’s death.  The second petitioner, Kuntrell Jackson, had accompanied two other boys to a convenience store in order to rob it.  During the robbery, one of the boys, not Jackson, shot and killed the clerk.  Both boys were convicted and were sentenced according to minimum sentencing guidelines to life in prison without parole.  The decision that the court was asked to make was not whether the boys should have been convicted, but instead, whether the sentencing guidelines that resulted in them being given life without parole constituted cruel and unusual punishment.Please leave feedback at https://www.psydactic.com or send any comments to feedback@psydactic.com.References and readings (when available) are posted at the end of each episode transcript, located at psydactic.buzzsprout.com. All opinions expressed in this podcast are exclusively those of the person speaking and should not be confused with the opinions of anyone else. We reserve the right to be wrong. Nothing in this podcast should be treated as individual medical advice.