NCJ Number
137253
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1991) Pages: 465-487
Date Published
1991
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This analysis of capital punishment for juveniles argues that the history of the juvenile justice system is antithetical to a juvenile death penalty and that continuation of this practice is questionable beyond any rationale for its perpetuation.
Abstract
In Stanford v. Kentucky in 1989, the United States Supreme Court held that the practice of executing juveniles who were age 16 or 17 at the time of their crimes did not violate the evolving standards of decency (ESD) of American society. This ESD determination was based on the legislative authorization of this punishment. Although this interpretation of what represents an ESD has been controlling in death penalty cases since Gregg v. Georgia in 1976, the Court's original concept of an ESD emphasized the importance of other factors in its determination. These factors included historical review and empirical knowledge about executions. Because the ESD is a court-created measure, legislatures are under no constitutional obligation to acknowledge the scope of concerns embodied in the historical origins of this concept. However, legislatures should consider both history and research in enacting such legislation. Footnotes, list of cases cited, and 54 references (Author abstract modified)