An appeal before the Wyoming Supreme Court asks a question at the heart of juvenile justice: whether a sentence of 42 to 75 years for a Casper teen who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder is cruel and unusual punishment.

The case touches on long-running issues of fair sentencing practices for youth, both in Wyoming and around the country. Since the Legislature acted on the subject in 2013, Wyoming has been among what today are 25 states that outlaw sentences of life without a chance at parole for children.

But in the case of Casper teenager Eavan Castaner, his attorneys maintain a Natrona County District Court judge handed him an unusually cruel sentence for a juvenile offender. The judge did so under a quirk in Wyoming statute that allows juveniles to receive a worse sentence for sec

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