The Juvenile Death Penalty: Questions and Answers
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Why should we be concerned about juvenile executions right now? |
| Because the pace of juvenile executions is accelerating quickly. There have been thirteen executions of individuals for crimes committed as juveniles since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, but in the first month of the new year, three juveniles are scheduled to be executed. |
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Who are they? What state will execute them and when? |
Virginia is scheduled to execute two white males:
Texas is scheduled to execute one African American male:
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Why are they called "juvenile executions" if these individuals are in their 20's? |
| All three were juveniles (age 17) at the time of the crime. In every area of the law, juveniles are recognized as being substantially different from adults, and are treated accordingly. Juveniles are not allowed to vote, serve on juries, make medical decisions for themselves, and if they enter into contracts, the contracts usually cannot be enforced against them.. | |
| Juveniles are not permitted to conduct these activities because they lack the capacity, experience and maturity to fully appreciate the consequences of their actions. The fact that these individuals are now adults does not eliminate the fact that they are being punished for crimes they committed as juveniles. |
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What is the ABA’s policy on juvenile executions? |
| In 1983 the ABA adopted a policy opposing, "in principle, the imposition of capital punishment upon any person for any offense committed while under the age of eighteen (18)." With the failure of states to follow ABA policy to prevent the execution of juveniles and the mentally retarded, and to implement procedural safeguards to insure that the death penalty is neither arbitrary nor biased, the ABA in 1997 called for a moratorium on the death penalty until such policies are implemented. |
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How many states allow juvenile executions? |
| Out of the 38 states that have the death penalty, 23 allow the juvenile death penalty, either by setting a minimum eligible age for the death penalty below age 18, or by not specifying any age limit at all. The remaining 15 states and the federal system using the death penalty set the age limit at age 18. A dozen states and the District of Columbia do not have the death penalty. |
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Is the juvenile death penalty a common practice internationally? |
| No. Only five other nations are known to have executed juveniles this decade: Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. With those few exceptions, the United States is virtually alone in the world in executing people for crimes committed while they were juveniles. |
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Has the United States made any international commitments regarding the juvenile death penalty? |
| The United States has signed and ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which specifically prohibits executing juveniles. However, the U.S. has made a reservation to that prohibition. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions, consider our reservation to be void under the principals of international law. |
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What is the racial make-up of juveniles on death row? |
| Two-thirds of juveniles on death row are people of color. The race of the victim is a also a significant factor in the use of the juvenile death penalty. Although African Americans constitute almost half of all juvenile homicide victims, two thirds of the victims in juvenile death penalty cases are white. |
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Is the death penalty an effective deterrent for juveniles? |
| Research suggests that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent. A survey of experts from the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the Law and Society Association showed that the overwhelming majority did not believe that the death penalty is a proven deterrent to homicide. Over 80% believe the existing research fails to support a deterrence justification for the death penalty. (M. Radelet and R. Akers, Deterrence and the Death Penalty? The Views of the Experts, 1995) In light of the characteristics associated with childhood - impulsiveness, lack of self-control, poor judgment - the death penalty particularly cannot be expected to act as a deterrent for children. |