Justices to review sentences for young convicts

The Supreme Court says it will decide whether its 2-year-old ruling throwing out mandatory life in prison without parole for juveniles should apply to older cases.

The justices said Friday they will examine the case of a Louisiana man who has been imprisoned since 1985 for the accidental shooting of his best friend during a botched armed robbery.

George Toca was 17 at the time of the shooting and was given an automatic life term with no possibility of parole. Toca argues someone else accidentally shot the friend, but that issue is not before the court.

In 2012, the justices ruled that judges and juries must take account of age when sentencing people who were younger than 18 at the time of even the most brutal crimes.