Imposition of Death Sentences for Juvenile Offenses, January 1, 1982 through April 1, 1989

• NCJ Number: 116816
• Author(s): VL Streib
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 5 pages
• Corporate Author: Cleveland State University
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A review of 45 juvenile death sentences in the United States since 1982 is presented.

Abstract

The rate at which judges and juries sentence juvenile offenders to death is extremely low. The 45 juvenile death sentences since 1982 represented only 2 percent of the total 2,106 death sentences imposed in the United States, and this percentage is decreasing. The decline in juvenile death sentences may have resulted from the Supreme Court's 1988 decision in the Thompson v. Oklahoma case. As of April 1, 1989, 27 persons were on death row in 13 States for murders committed while under 18 years of age. Statistical data on juvenile offenders' age, race, State, and current status are presented.