Imposition of Death Sentences for Juvenile Offenses, January 1, 1982, Through August 1, 1988

• NCJ Number: 113695
• Author(s): V L Streib
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 4 pages
• Corporate Author: Cleveland State University
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report lists the names of all juveniles sentenced to death in the United States from January 1, 1982, through August 1, 1988, along with age at the time of the crime, race, State of jurisdiction, and current status. Data are from a newsletter of the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Abstract

Juvenile death sentences have been about 1-2 percent of the total death sentences each year over the study period. As of August 1, 1988, 28 persons remained on death row for crimes committed while they were under 18 years old. The current juvenile death sentencing rate is about 3-5 per year compared to adult death sentences which have remained relatively constant at about 25 each month during the same period. This low number of juvenile death sentences may reflect the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Thompson v. Oklahoma (1988), or it may mark the end of juvenile death sentences altogether.