In a landmark decision on the death penalty, the Supreme Court has ruled the execution of child offenders is unconstitutional because it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. The decision throws out the death sentences of 72 juvenile murderers and bars states from seeking to execute minors for future crimes.

The United States had been one of a handful of countries in the world that still execute criminals for crimes committed before they turned 18. According to Amnesty International, half of the world’s 39 known executions of child offenders since 1990 have occurred here in the United States. Other nations still execute child offenders include China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. For years, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has prohibited the execution of child offenders but the United States has not signed the global treaty.

The Supreme Court ruling came in a split 5-4 decision. The ruling was hailed by opponents of the death penalty including Diann Rust-Tierney of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. “We’re pleased that the Supreme Court said that if we’re going to have a death penalty, it has to be reserved for the 'worst of the worst' — the crimes that are the most serious, and the people that are most culpable, and to date, juveniles have been found not to fall into that category,” said Rust-Tierney. “Everybody knows kids are different and while they should be held accountable for their crimes, the death penalty just isn’t appropriate.”