NCJ Number
206609
Date Published
2004
Length
27 pages
Annotation
After a brief review of the history and current status of the juvenile death penalty in America, this chapter reviews the relevant case law prior to 1988 and analyzes the opinions issued in "Thompson" and "Stanford," concluding with a discussion of the impact of "Atkins v. Virginia" on the future of the juvenile death penalty.
Abstract
Although capital punishment for those convicted of capital crimes committed when they were juveniles (under age 18) is not a new practice in the United States, the actual execution of such juveniles has been rare. Twenty-one executions for juvenile crimes have been carried out since 1976, when the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear in "Gregg v. Georgia" that the death penalty, in and of itself, is not always an unconstitutional punishment. To date, the possibility of executing a juvenile for a capital crime continues to exist under current case law; however, at the time of the writing of this chapter, four justices of the U.S. Supreme Court (Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer) have taken what is apparently an unyielding position against the practice of executing juvenile offenders. Only one more vote is needed to end such executions. Also, in 2002, two of the remaining five justices (Kennedy and O'Connor) joined these four in ending the legally comparable practice of executing mentally retarded offenders (Atkins v. Virginia). What happens in the next few years on this matter depends on a variety of factors, notably what justices may retire and what justices may be appointed and confirmed in their places before the next relevant case comes before the U.S. Supreme Court. Discussion questions, 6 notes, and 38 references