Killing Your Young

The Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in a case dealing a profound question: should we execute our children? OK, it's not quite that profound. The question is actually whether the execution of people who were 16 or 17 (anything younger is already verboten) when they committed their crime constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. Since I oppose the death penalty in any case, this is an easy case for me. But I wonder if the Court might have some problems, given the horrific nature of the crime (kidnap / murder) and the apparent premeditation of the kid involved (according to an accomplice, he knew he wouldn't get the death penalty because he was only 17), sparing the guy's life.