The best thing for lawabiding people to do now is adopt a mental attitude that I must protect myself and life because no one else is going to. While it is true that at one point in time long ago that the law and police were on the side of the law abiding individual, that no longer is the case.
No they did NOT.
SCOTUS ruled that in the case of a juvenile criminal the lower courts were not FORCED to issue the minimum punishment or life in prison guidelines mandated by state/federal laws. They still have the option to keep the little punks behind bars for life.
The requirement is youth must be taken into consideration and that individualized sentences are handed down...ie it give the judge/jury latitude in determining whether or not the life sentence without parole is warranted. The offender does not receive the sentence because it is mandated but rather because it is warranted.