Articles

Casper (WY) Star Tribune February 19, 2004 Editorial Wyoming’s House of Representative is now considering House Bill 5, which prohibits the execution of juveniles. This measure deserves support, for a number of reasons. The death penalty should be meted out only to the worst of the worst members of society, if it’s meted out at all. And juveniles who are convicted of murders committed prior to their 18^th birthdays rarely could be classified as such. For those rare juveniles who fit into…

Rapid City Journal February 18, 2004 Editorial Last week the state Senate rejected a bill that would have repealed South Dakota’s death penalty law while passing a bill that removes capital punishment for individuals who committed their offense when they were less than 18 years old. The juvenile death penalty bill, SB182, passed the Senate, 23 – 11, and awaits a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee. Federal law and 29 other states have passed laws that prohibit capital punishment for…

Washington Post February 18, 2004 Editorial THE SUPREME COURT has announced that it will review the constitutionality of the death penalty for people who were children when they committed their crimes. But don’t expect Texas to stop executing juvenile offenders while the court does so. The Lone Star State has scheduled, through the end of June, the executions of four convicts for crimes committed while they were still underage. Unless the courts step in and stop these executions, Texas could…

Yankton Daily Press February 10, 2004 Editorial South Dakota lawmakers have an opportunity this session to send an important message about the state’s system of criminal punishment and its notion of reform. The question is, which message will they choose to send? The answer can be found in SB182, a bill which would prohibit the execution of anyone under age 18 convicted in South Dakota of murder, aggravated kidnapping or terrorism. With the death penalty part of state law, it is possible…

Washington Post February 3, 2004 Editorial AT FIRST GLANCE, the Supreme Court’s decision to reconsider whether the juvenile death penalty violates the Constitution may seem to be good news for opponents of capital punishment. In 1989 the high court, in the case of Stanford v. Kentucky, upheld the practice of executing people for crimes they committed when they were 16 or 17. Now the justices want another look, just as they recently took another look at — and banned — execution of the…

Greensboro (NC) News and Record January 30, 2004 Editorial Five prisoners on North Carolina’s death row are among the 73 inmates in America who will anxiously await a U.S. Supreme Court decision. The prisoners were under 18 years old when they committed murder. This week the nation’s highest court agreed to review whether the U.S. Constitution permits juveniles to be executed. The court will decide if those who were 16 or 17 years old when they committed murder can be given the death…

Detroit Free Press January 30, 2004 Editorial Even death penalty supporters should applaud the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to consider ending the execution of killers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes. The arguments against executing adults are compelling enough. They should be absolutely decisive against the execution of teens and children in any decent society. The high court has already laid the legal and philosophic groundwork for ending this shameful practice. It…

Kansas City Star January 29, 2004 Editorial After deciding to review a Missouri case, the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to stop death penalty sentences on those who were minors when they committed crimes. Since 1973, states have put to death more than 20 juveniles. Justice John Paul Stevens rightly labeled such executions “shameful” and Justices David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer agreed. Experts believe a decision in this case will rest with Justices Sandra…

Arizona Daily Star January 29, 2004 Editorial Public sentiment and state practices are leading the way, and now the Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether criminals can be executed if they committed their crimes when they were 16 and 17 years old. The court agreed to hear an appeal from the Missouri Supreme Court. That court ruled last year that executing Christopher Simmons, now 27, would amount to a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s provision against “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Baltimore Sun January 28, 2004 Editorial In America, youngsters under the age of 18 can’t buy cigarettes. They can’t be served a cocktail in a bar or pick up a six-pack of beer. They can’t vote. They can’t own property outright. And yet, executing someone who committed a heinous crime at age 16 or 17 is permissible in this society. Condoned in 22 states. Practiced vigorously in at least one, Texas. Only in America. The U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to put a stop to that barbarous…