NCJ Number
113026
Journal
Northern Kentucky Law Review Volume: 13 Issue: 3 Dated: (1987) Pages: 495-517
Date Published
1987
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Public attitudes toward punishment of serious juvenile crimes have led many courts and States to consider the viability of the death penalty for serious juvenile offenders.
Abstract
The juvenile justice system is founded on the premise that minors guilty of offenses should be treated differently than adults and that the primary objective should be rehabilitation rather than punishment. However, the majority of States have some mechanism for transferring cases into the adult court when the rationale for continued treatment is vitiated by the juvenile offender's age, experience, failure to respond to treatment, or a propensity to violent and serious crimes. This transfer may be accomplished through judicial, legislative, or prosecutorial waiver. Most States have death penalty statutes that would permit the execution of juveniles waived to adult courts. While courts have been divided in their holdings on juvenile capital punishment, both State courts and the U.S. Supreme Court have clearly held that age of the offender must be considered as a mitigating factor. Because the death penalty is the harshest of all punishments meted out to juvenile offenders, specific guidelines should be implemented to ensure a rationale decision. A minority of States oppose the death penalty for juveniles, and many are reforming their death penalty statues. Any reformation should consider prohibiting its imposition on juveniles. While society has largely accepted capital punishment, even when involving juveniles, the purposes it serves in this application are questionable. 170 footnotes.