---
title: 'Age at Which All Suspects Are Tried as Adults'
description: '(Pursuant to the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling in Roper v. Simmons, the death penalty is prohibited in all states for those under the age of 18 when the…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/stories/age-at-which-all-suspects-are-tried-as-adults'
section: stories
date: '2005-10-01T14:19:00-04:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:52:25-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

Age at Which All Suspects Are Tried as Adults
---------------------------------------------

(Pursuant to the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling in *Roper v. Simmons*, the death penalty is prohibited in all states for those under the age of 18 when the offense for which they were charged was committed.)

| **AGE** | **STATES** |
|---|---|
| **SIXTEEN AND ABOVE** (1 state) | North Carolina\* |
| **SEVENTEEN** **AND ABOVE** (8 states) | Georgia, Louisiana,\*\* Michigan, Missouri, New York,\*\* South Carolina,\*\* Texas, Wisconsin |
| **EIGHTEEN AND ABOVE** (41 states plus the District of Columbia) | Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, plus the District of Columbia |

\*North Carolina has recently enacted legislation that will raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction. In December 2019, North Carolina will stop automatically charging most 16- and 17-year-olds in adult court.

\*\*Several states have recently enacted legislation that will raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction. Louisiana will stop automatically charging most 17-year-olds in adult court on 7/1/20, New York on 10/1/19, and South Carolina on 7/1/19.

(Source: Juvenile Justice Geography, Policy, Practice &amp; Statistics, Jurisdictional Boundaries, JJGPS, <http://www.jjgps.org/jurisdictional-boundaries>.)