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Civil War declared in Syria

The Week- Syria is at war, Prsident Bashar al-Assad said this week as rebel forces struck at Damascus itself in the worst fighting of the 16-month conflict. Until now, Assad has insisted that the insurgency was the work of foreign-funded terrorists. But in a long, rambling televised speech this week, he said the country was in “a real state of war from all angles” and would pour all resources into winning. Meanwhile, insurgents attacked a Republican Guard base near the presidential palace, and regime forces responded by shelling surrounding neighborhoods, killing dozens. Gunmen also stormed the headquarters of a pro-Assad TV channel, bombing studios and shooting dead seven employees. A new U.N. report said rebel forces “have effectively challenged” the regime’s authority in Damascus, Homs, Hama, and the providences of Idlib and Aleppo. 

Juvenile life sentences

The Week- The Supreme Court this week barred states from imposing mandatory life sentences on teenagers convicted of murder, offering a chance for freedom to some 2,000 inmates serving no-parole jail terms. “Children are constitutionally different from adults for purposes of sentencing,” said Justice Elena Kagan, who wrote the court’s 5-4 majority opinion. Kagan allowed that life sentences should not be outlawed, but said that the harsh practice should be discouraged because of what the court and society have learned in recent cases “about children’s diminished culpability” and heightened capacity for change.” Judges will now have discretion to weigh mitigating factors in a juvenile murder case, such as a prisoner’s background and age at the time of the offense, and any evidence of rehabilitation. Chief Justice John Roberts led the dissent, noting that these laws were passed by 28 state legislatures. “Perhaps science and policy suggest society should show greater mercy to young killers,” said Roberts, “but that is not our decision to make.”