The Supreme Court will reconsider juvenile life sentencing in their new term, which begins Oct. 5. According to Amnesty International, there are an estimated 2,500 U.S. prisoners serving life terms for juvenile crimes. Most of them were found guilty of murder or of participating in a crime that led to a homicide. However, 109 of the inmates are serving life sentences for other crimes, such as burglary, assault, or rape. The Supreme Court will likely revisit the question: Does life without parole for minors who didn't kill constitute cruel and unusual punishment?

All eyes will be on the new addition to the bench, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. As a former prosecutor, will she take the side of tough-on-crime conservatives or instead align herself with liberals who want to end prison policies that they perceive as going too far?