Juveniles cannot be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today.

In a 5-4 decision, the New York Times says the high court ruled that such sentences for children and teens under 18 violates the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Even though the case decided by the court today involved two boys from the South, former Lincoln-Sudbury student John Odgren's case could be affected. Odgren was sentenced to life in prison without parole for stabbing a fellow student to death at the high school in 2007. Odgren was 16 at the time of killing.