ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the question of how US society deals with its young miscreants in ways that are fair, humane, and recognizably just. The context is the contemporary expansion of the punishment power of the court and the law over children. The consequences of treating child offenders as adults to them, their families, their communities, and society are staggering, with no evident enhancement of public safety. It argues for proportional, restrained punishment of adolescent offenders in both kind and amount. The chapter also argues for substantive provisions for the treatment as children of all but a few children in conflict with the law. While the renewed recognition of international law and human rights treaties in this astonishing Supreme Court decision is welcome and deserves further exploration itself, the chapter will focus on analyzing the strategic opportunities created for children's rights by the reasoning and logic of Roper, particularly pertaining to juvenile justice.
