NCJ Number
169875
Date Published
1998
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This report documents a quarter of a century (1973-1997) of juvenile death sentencing under modern death penalty statutes in the United States.
Abstract
Consistent with the general pattern over this 25-year period, both the annual juvenile death-sentencing rate and the juvenile death-row population remain small compared to that for adults, with each being approximately 1 percent and 2 percent of the totals; however, the annual murder rate by juveniles has been increasing rapidly. For instance, arrest of juveniles for intentional homicide (murder and non-negligent manslaughter) increased by 90 percent during the 10-year period from 1986 through 1995. The spiraling number of arrests of juveniles for potentially capital crimes has resulted in neither a comparable increase in juvenile death sentencing nor a significant increase in the number of juvenile offenders on death row. Given this increased number of arrests for murder and a steady number of resulting death sentences, a juvenile arrested for murder today is less likely than in previous years to be sentenced to death for that murder. One table provides information and data on executions of juveniles from January 1, 1973, through December 31, 1997, including name, date of execution, place of execution, race, age at crime, and age at execution. Another table shows the minimum death penalty ages by American jurisdiction. Other data show the number and age of juvenile offenders executed in foreign countries for 1985-95. Information on death sentences imposed for crimes committed as juveniles for 1973-1997 encompasses number of death sentences for each year, age at crime, and juvenile sentences as a portion of total sentences. A State-by-State breakdown of juvenile death sentences for 1973-97 covers offender's race, sex, and age at the time of the crime. Case summaries are also provided for current death row inmates under death sentences as of December 31, 1997. 6 tables