Death Penalty and Juveniles

Trying to fight a death penalty punishment for a juvenile, contact a juvenile criminal attorney immediately.

 

Prior to 2005 when the United States Supreme Court ruled that executing a convicted murderer under the age of 17 was cruel and unusual punishment, there were cases whereas juveniles were sentenced to the death penalty.

 

At the time, that decision was overruled in the case of Roper v. Simmons, which also rendered 12 other states laws unconstitutional in which 72 juveniles under the age of 18 had to be reversed as well that were at the time on death row. However, by 2005, only 20 of 38 states have permitted this application to juveniles under the age of 18. Talk to a juvenile defense attorney or criminal lawyer to learn your state’s law.

 

In 1988 during the case of Thompson v. Oklahoma, the Supreme Court overturned a death sentence for a fifteen year old that was involved in a murder. The Supreme Court overturned the decision due to the fact that Oklahoma did not stipulate a minimum age for execution in their state statues. At this time, the Supreme Court set the minimum age at 16 before a juvenile could be executed.

 

Another case in 1989 Stanford v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court ruled that it was constitutional for a state to execute a juvenile between the ages of 16 and 18 if they were this age at the time of the offense, but it was unconstitutional if the juvenile was under the age of 16 at the time of the offense.

 

There have been changes to the minimum age throughout the US; however, over 360 juveniles have been executed. The United States first execution of a juvenile began in 1642 in Massachusetts with the execution of Thomas Granger. Today, throughout the world most countries do not allow the execution of juveniles. Juveniles can be executed in the United States, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Yemen. It is important to contact a juvenile defense lawyer or criminal attorney if you are a juvenile facing a death penalty.