US Supreme Court change rules on youth convicts
Published:Monday | May 17, 2010 | 6:12 PM
The US Supreme Court has banned life sentences with no parole for young convicts who have not committed murder.
The court upheld an appeal by a Florida man who was sentenced to life at the age of 17 for armed burglary.
His lawyers argued that the sentence infringed the US constitution\'s banning of cruel and unusual punishments.
The Supreme Court said 129 US youths are currently serving such sentences, 77 of whom are in Florida.
The US is thought to be the only country in the world to allow such sentences.