Sin and death came to all through Adam's sin. The whole human race ever since was affected by Adam's sin. This is the fact that Paul has been establishing, and the fact that every human being needs to face up to. All have sinned, and all are subject to death. There are several possible interpretations of this verse, and it is all tied in with the doctrine of original sin. One way or another Adam's sin affected the whole of humanity. This is incontrovertible, we can see the evidence wherever we look, including at ourselves.
At the end of verse 12 Paul breaks off his line of thought, not to resume it until verse 18. He breaks off to focus more on sin and how it works. The Law did not invent sin, rather it made it highlighted it. Sin existed from that fateful day in the Garden of Eden onwards. Now why does Paul start talking about the Law not been around for a time? Perhaps he is showing that sin had its effects without the Law. Death clearly reigned from the time that Adam sinned. Death did not come in with Moses and the Law. So in the same way as death ruled quite effectively without the need of any help from the Law, so through Christ life will reign without the need for any help from the Law. Indeed, at the end of verse 14 he says that what happened through Adam is a pattern of what will happen through Christ.
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