Juvenile Death Penalty Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 19, 2004

Contact:
For Media Inquiries, Laura Burstein at the Criminal Justice Reform Education Fund 202-557-7584
For Non-Media Requests, Elizabeth Gladden at the National Juvenile Defender Center 202-452-0010

Nation's Leading Medical and Religious Institutions, Nobel Laureates and the European Union Join Child Advocates In Calling for an End to Juvenile Death Penalty

Legal Briefs Submitted to U.S. Supreme Court in Case that Will Decide Constitutionality of Putting Young Offenders to Death

A sweeping array of organizations including the leading American medical, religious, and legal institutions, child and victim advocate groups and nearly 50 countries, along with prominent individuals including Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and former U.S. Diplomats, filed amicus curiae briefs today calling for an end to the juvenile death penalty. In their friend-of-the-court briefs, the groups state that the juvenile death penalty violates evolving standards of decency, that it serves no legitimate purpose and is excessive in light of emerging evidence showing the limited capabilities of juveniles, and that the practice is almost universally rejected by the international community.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in Roper v. Simmons in October, when the Justices will weigh whether it is constitutional to sentence juvenile offenders to death. In August 2003, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of Christopher Simmons on the ground that it violated the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Today, lawyers for Simmons filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to uphold the lower court's decision. [Read the complete release]