Juvenile Death Penalty Today: Present Death Row Inmates Under Juvenile Death Sentences and Death Sentences and Executions for Juvenile Crimes: January 1, 1973 to May 1, 1992

• NCJ Number: 136926
• Author(s): V L Streib
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 12 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In the U.S., both the juvenile death sentencing rate and the juvenile death row population comprise only about 2 percent of the totals.

Abstract

Since earliest colonial times, 333 persons have been executed for juvenile crimes; 5 of these have been imposed during the current era (1973-present). Several U.S. Supreme Court rulings, including Thompson v. Oklahoma and Stanford v. Kentucky, have established the constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty. The current era of American death penalty sentencing began in 1973, following the Supreme Court's decision in Furman v. Georgia. Of the 109 juvenile death sentences imposed since 1973, 5 have resulted in execution, 73 have been reversed, and the remaining 31 are currently in force. All 31 juvenile offenders on death row are male and have been convicted of murder. Most offenders are from minority ethnic groups, while most of their victims were white, female adults. This report provides a detailed listing of the juvenile offenders currently on death row as well as a state-by-state listing. 3 tables and 2 appendixes