New Hampshire Senate, Wyoming House Pass Bills to Ban Juvenile Death Penalty

Less than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will recon­sid­er the con­sti­tu­tion­al­i­ty of the death penal­ty for juve­nile offend­ers, two state leg­isla­tive bod­ies have passed mea­sures to ban the prac­tice. The New Hampshire Senate passed its bill to ban the exe­cu­tion of those who were under the age of 18 at the time of their offense on February 19, 2004. The mea­sure now moves to the House, where a com­mit­tee hear­ing and vote are expect­ed in the com­ing weeks. The Wyoming House also passed a mea­sure to ban the exe­cu­tion of juve­nile offend­ers. The House vot­ed 45 – 12 in sup­port of the bill on February 20, and mem­bers of the Wyoming Senate are expect­ed to con­sid­er the ban next week. A bill is also advanc­ing in the South Dakota leg­is­la­ture. Currently, 17 of the 38 states that main­tain cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment for­bid the exe­cu­tion of those who were juve­niles at the time of their crime. The juve­nile death penal­ty is also for­bid­den under the fed­er­al gov­ern­men­t’s statute. See Juvenile Death Penalty. See Recent Legislative Activity.