Imprison kids for life? Sickening as that sounds, in America, yes, you can

Donald Trump made no secret of his delight at being gifted by fate the opportunity to stack the US Supreme Court with conservative judges, nor his expectation that they’d return the favour when he needed them.

The judges comprehensively disappointed Trump, refusing to even hear any of his baseless legal challenges to his 2020 election loss. The Republican Party, for which domination of the court has become almost its sole raison d’etre, was probably less concerned, expecting a different pay-off.

The court, meanwhile, is getting on with delivering the goods. It is now stacked 6-3 with judges ranging from very conservative to purely ideological; the liberal minority has been reduced to snarky dissents. With lifetime appointments, the new status quo will continue for a very long time.