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Imposition of Death Sentences for Juvenile Offenses, January 1, 1982, Through August 1, 1988

NCJ Number
113695
Author(s)
V L Streib
Date Published
1988
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report lists the names of all juveniles sentenced to death in the United States from January 1, 1982, through August 1, 1988, along with age at the time of the crime, race, State of jurisdiction, and current status. Data are from a newsletter of the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Abstract
Juvenile death sentences have been about 1-2 percent of the total death sentences each year over the study period. As of August 1, 1988, 28 persons remained on death row for crimes committed while they were under 18 years old. The current juvenile death sentencing rate is about 3-5 per year compared to adult death sentences which have remained relatively constant at about 25 each month during the same period. This low number of juvenile death sentences may reflect the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Thompson v. Oklahoma (1988), or it may mark the end of juvenile death sentences altogether.