U.S. Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Teen Killer's Appeal

Teen killer Christopher Pittman's lawyers petitioned the justices to examine whether Pittman's thirty year sentence violates the Constitution's band on cruel and unusual punishment.

Pittman has no opportunity for parole, and will be 42 when he is released.

Pittman's lawyers say that he is the only inmate serving such a long sentence for a crime he committed when he was young. The judge who sentenced him was also prohibited from taking his age in account at sentencing.

South Carolina has deemed that the sentence is proportionate for the crime, and say that there is a national trend of increased punishment for young violent criminals.

Christopher Pittman used a shotgun to murder his grandparents Joe and Joy Pitman in their beds and then lit fire to the house in 2001. During his trial, Pittman's lawyers argued that he was prescribed the antidepressant Zoloft, and therefore his actions were influenced by the drug. An allegation that the makers of the drug vigorously denied.

Each year, around 200,000 minors are tried as adults, according to the National Center for Juvenile Justice.

Pittman's case drew wide attention because of the link his lawyers attempted to make between the crime and Zoloft. It is the most prescribed antidepressant in the United States, with approximately 32.7 million prescriptions written in 2003. The government ordered Zoloft, along with other antidepressants, to carry the "black box" warning, the governments strongest warning, about an increased risk of suicidal behavior in children.