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On March 1, 2005 in the case of Roper v. Simmons, the US Supreme Court, held in a 5-4 vote that the death penalty, as applied to those under eighteen years of age at the time of the crime, violates evolving standards of decency and is prohibited by the Eighth Amendment ban on "cruel and unusual punishment" of the US Constitution.
The page below consists of archived information.
For further information on the decision and context click here
Juvenile Statistics Table
(As of March 2003)
States and Jurisdictions Without the Death Penalty
(14 States and Washington DC)
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States and Jurisdictions With the Death Penalty
(36 States and the Military and Federal Government)
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Capital Punishment States Without the Juvenile Death Penalty
(16 States (17 - See Missouri) and the Military and Federal Government)
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States, Allowing for Juvenile Capital Punishment, Which Have Not Executed Juveniles Since 1976
(13 States)
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States Which Have Executed Juveniles Since 1976
(7 States)
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States, Allowing for Juvenile Capital Punishment, Which Do Not Have Juveniles on Death Row
(7 States)
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States With Juveniles on Death Row
(13 States)
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Alaska
Hawaii
Iowa
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
North Dakota
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Vermont
Washington DC
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
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Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Federal Gov't.
US Military
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California
Colorado
Connecticut
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Maryland
Montana
Nebraska
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Ohio
Oregon
Tennessee
Washington
Federal Gov't.
US Military
Missouri
|
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Delaware
Florida
Idaho
Kentucky
Mississippi
Nevada
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Utah
|
Texas(13)
Virginia(3)
Oklahoma(2)
Georgia(1)
Louisiana(1)
Missouri(1)
South Carolina(1)
|
Arkansas
Delaware
Idaho
Kentucky
New Hampshire
Oklahoma
Utah
|
Texas (28)
Alabama (14)
Arizona (6)
Louisiana (6)
Mississippi (5)
North Carolina (5)
South Carolina (5)
Florida (3)
Georgia (2)
Pennsylvania (2)
Missouri (1)
Nevada (1)
Virginia (1)
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Minimum Ages for Application of Death Penalty
US Statutes:
| Age Eighteen |
Age Seventeen |
Age Sixteen* |
No Death Penalty |
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Maryland
Montana
Nebraska
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Ohio
Oregon
Tennessee
Washington
Federal Gov't.
US Military
|
Florida
Georgia
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Texas
|
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Delaware
Idaho
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
Nevada
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Utah
Virginia
|
Alaska
Hawaii
Iowa
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
North Dakota
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Vermont
Washington DC
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
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*Minimum Age required by Thompson v Oklahoma
Status of Juvenile Death Penalty Law in the United States
Currently, it is established that the execution of juveniles in the United States is constitutional. The boundaries and limits for the execution of juveniles at the time of their offense by states in the United States are set by the following cases: The constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty was decided by the US Supreme Court in Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 US 815 (1988). The Court held that executions of offenders age fifteen and younger at the time of their crimes are unconstitutional. In Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 US 361 (1989), the Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit the death penalty for crimes committed at age sixteen or seventeen regardless of state statutory provisions.
Presently, 38 states and the federal government have statutes authorizing the death penalty for certain crimes. Twenty states permit the execution of juvenile offenders, 5 using 17 years of age as the minimum and 15 using 16 years of age as the minimum. Whilst 14 of the 20 states indeed have juvenile offenders on their death row, only 7 (Texas, Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Missouri, Georgia and Oklahoma) have executed since the death penalty was reinstated following the decision in Gregg v Georgia in 1976. Gregg dealt with the constitutionality of death penalty statutes in the USA, although executions did not actually commence until 1977, with Gary Gilmore in Utah. Since reinstatement, 22 juvenile executions have been carried out in the United States. In the year 2000 alone, four child offenders were executed; Christopher Thomas (Virginia), Steve Roach (Virginia), Glen McGinnis (Texas) and Gary Graham (Texas). In all four cases clemency was sought, but the authorities in both Virginia and Texas denied this final chance for life.
Recent State Developments
March 3, 2004 - The governors of Wyoming and South Dakota both signed bills abolishing the death penalty for juveniles.
January 26, 2004 - US Supreme Court grants cert in Simmons' case. Please click here for a summary of the history, context and background to the US Supreme Court's decision to grant cert in Simmons.
August
26, 2003 - The Missouri Supreme Court has vacated Christopher Simmons' death sentence holding that juvenile executions violate the 8th Amendment of the United States Constitution under the "evolving standards of decency" test.
April 3, 2003 - Oklahoma executed Scott Hain. He was 17 at the time of the crime and 32 when executed.
March 12, 2003 - Juvenile offender, David Blue's sentence was commuted to life without parole. The Mississippi attorney general and Blue's defense attorney determined that he has mental retardation. Blue, 28, was 17 at the time of the crime and has an IQ of 67.
February 24, 2003 - The South Dakota House State Affairs Committee voted 7-6 to reject a bill that would have banned the death penalty for those younger than 18 at the time they committed a crime.
December 31, 2002 - The
Arizona Capital Commission published its final report recommending Arizona to raise the minimum age of execution to 18.
February 14, 2003 - The South Dakota Senate passed SB 141, which would abolish juvenile executions, by a vote of 20-13. It will be voted on in the House next week.
November 26, 2002 - Alexander Williams, who earlier this year had his
sentence reduced from death to life, apparently committed suicide in his
cell. click here
for more
October 22, 2002 - In the case of Michael Domingues, the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights held that the execution of juvenile offenders
violates norms of jus cogens - click here
for more information.
October 21, 2002 - The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 against a stay for Kevin Stanford. Stevens, Souter, Ginsberg & Breyer dissent, expressing the view that after Atkins, the juvenile issue should be revisited at the earliest opportunity.
On August 28, 2002, Toronto Patterson was executed. He was 17 at the time of the crime, and 24 when executed.
August 28, 2002 - The U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 against a stay for Toronto Patterson. Stevens, Ginsberg & Breyer dissent, expressing the view that after Atkins, the juvenile issue should be revisited at the earliest opportunity.
On August 8, 2002, T.J. Jones was executed. He was 17 at the time of the
crime, and 25 when executed.
On August 1, 2002, Larry Osbourne's conviction and death sentence were overturned by the Kentucky Supreme Court. At the time of the murder, Osbourne was seventeen.
Montana's Governor Marc Racicot recently signed House Bill 374 abolishing the death penalty for juveniles.
Napoleon Beazley was executed by Texas on May 28, 2002. He was 17 at the time of the crime and 25 when executed.
On March 26, 2002, Indiana's Governor O'Bannon signed a bill abolishing the death penalty for juveniles.
In the Florida case Brennan v State (1999) it was upheld, through the interpretation of the Florida State Constitution, that the execution of those who are sixteen at the time of their crime was prohibited.
US Statutes
Juvenile Statistics
Executions Worldwide
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