Juveniles on Death Row (From Young Blood: Juvenile Justice and the Death Penalty, P 167-176, 1995, Shirley Dicks, ed. - See NCJ-166057)

• NCJ Number: 166067
• Author(s): V Streib
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: Prometheus Books
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted from Congregation of the Condemned: Voices Against the Death Penalty, Shirley Dicks, ed., Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1991, P 191-198

Annotation

An attorney who represents juveniles and women on death row discusses death row inmates and notes that leaders in the legal, criminological, and social policy fields almost universally oppose juvenile capital punishment.

Abstract

Most juvenile death row inmates came from abusive homes. Nearly all had court-appointed attorneys with large caseloads and little experience in capital cases. These attorneys experience enormous political pressures. Fourteen States currently have juveniles on death row. One has been executed in South Carolina and two have been executed in Texas. The American Law Institute, the National Commission on Reform of Criminal Law, and the American Bar Association all oppose juvenile capital punishment. All European countries forbid the death penalty for crimes committed under age 18. The U.S. Supreme Court has avoided giving a direct answer regarding the Constitutionality of juvenile capital punishment, but an analysis suggests that capital punishment for juveniles is cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. Two alternatives are long-term prison sentences and life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.