NCJ Number
132839
Date Published
1991
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Juvenile death sentences and the juvenile death row population in the U.S. account for one to two percent of the total number of capital sentences and death row inmates. A juvenile death penalty is one imposed for a crime committed by a person under age 18.
Abstract
In several cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that, while capital punishment is unconstitutional for defendants aged 15 or younger, the eighth amendment does not prohibit the death penalty for crimes committed at age 16 or 17. Since the Supreme Court reinstituted capital punishment in 1972, a total of 106 juvenile death sentences have been imposed. Of those, only 32 or 30 percent remain in force; 4 sentences have resulted in execution, and 70 have been reversed. All 32 death row inmates under juvenile death sentences are male, most are minorities, and all were convicted of murder; their current ages range from 17 to 33. Most of their victims were older white females. 2 tables and 2 appendixes