Killing Kids: The Impact of Domingues v. Nevada on the Juvenile Death Penalty as a Violation of International Law

• NCJ Number: 187373
• Journal: Boston College Law Review Volume: 41 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2000 Pages: 1175-1216
• Author(s): Erica Templeton
• Editor(s): Christine O'Connor
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 42 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In examining the debate over the legality of the juvenile death penalty, this note concludes the use of the juvenile death penalty in the United States violates international human rights law.

Abstract

Over the past decade, juvenile violence has received significant public attention, in part due to violent incidents in high schools. Since 1992, 45 States have passed or amended legislation making it easier to prosecute juveniles as adults. More children are being transferred out of the juvenile justice system and into the adult criminal justice system, and more juveniles are receiving the death penalty. Since the United States tends to condemn human rights violations in other countries, the author believes the juvenile death penalty in the United States should be re-evaluated. The note reviews the background of the juvenile death penalty in the United States and considers several of the rationales offered for banning the practice. Constitutional challenges and multilateral treaties that specifically address the juvenile death penalty are considered, and sources and foundations of international law are briefly discussed to provide a basis for understanding how international law applies to the juvenile death penalty. The case of Domingues v. Nevada is described, a case in which a juvenile offender sentenced to death by the Nevada Supreme Court petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a review of international law grounds. The Domingues petition for certiorari concluded the juvenile death penalty was prohibited by three sources of international law--treaty, custom, and jus cogens. The petition further asserted the Nevada Supreme Court's decision upholding the juvenile death penalty was part of a pattern of lack of awareness on the part of State courts of U.S. international obligations. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that certiorari be denied. The Domingues case serves as an example of how international law is increasingly relevant to death penalty challenges. International law arguments are analyzed in the context of the constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty. 337 footnotes