Juveniles and the Mentally Disabled More Likely to Give False Confessions
Studies and surveys have found that both minors and the mentally
impaired are more likely to make false confessions, in part because they
are more vulnerable to suggestion. A recent study conducted by
Northwestern University law professor Steve Drizin and UC Irvine
criminologist Richard Leo examined 125 cases in which individuals were
exonerated after giving false confessions. The researchers found that
32% of the cases involved minors and 22% of the cases involved
individuals with mental retardation. “They are more likely to go
along, agree and comply with authority figures - to say what the police
want them to say - than the general population,” notes Emory
University professor Morgan Cloud, who co-wrote another study that found
that the mentally impaired - even those who with mild forms of mental
retardation - are largely incapable of understanding police admonitions
of their right to remain silent and to have an attorney.
A study published in the University of Chicago Law Review examining
comprehension of Miranda rights found that only 27% of disabled persons
understood that confessions can be used against a suspect, while 91% of
nondisabled persons understood this concept. Disabled subjects were also
found to be far less likely to understand that police cannot threaten
suspects, that police and judges cannot force suspects to talk, and that
there is no penalty for remaining silent. While juveniles and those
with mental impairments are most likely to succumb to psychological
pressure and make erroneous admissions during intense police
interrogations, experts note that even the able-minded are at risk.
Social scientists and legal experts say the best way to ensure that
confessions or admissions are truthful is to require detectives to tape
them from the Miranda warning in the first interview until the end of
all subsequent interviews. Some states, including Alaska and Minnesota,
already require this type of videotaping. UC Berkeley sociologist
Richard Ofshe notes that video or voice recordings of confessions would
reduce false confessions by as much as 90% because it would stop
coercive tactics that are sometimes used by police. (Los Angeles Times,
October 30, 2004). See Innocence and Mental Retardation.
The American Prospect Issues Special Report on U.S. Human Rights
The latest edition of The American Prospect features a series of
articles by prominent writers and human rights leaders regarding the
effect of the international movement for human rights on the U.S. Two of
the articles highlight U.S. death penalty policies. Yale Law School
Dean Harold Hongju Koh points out the conflict between the U.S.’s
efforts to support international human rights and our domestic practices
such as the use of the juvenile death penalty. “In my view, by far the
most dangerous and destructive form of American exceptionalism is the
assertation of double standards. For by embracing double standards, the
United States invariably ends up not on the higher rung but on the lower
rung with horrid bedfellows - for example, such countries as Iran,
Nigeria, and Saudia Arabia, the only other nations that have not in
practice either abolished or declared a moratorium on the imposition of
the death penalty on juvenile offenders.”
A second article, Criminal Justice and the Erosion of Rights by
human rights scholar Deborah Pearlstein, examines the impact of
legislation such as the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act
(AEDPA) and The PATRIOT Act on capital cases. Pearlstein notes, “While
human-rights observers have rightly focused on terrorism-related
developments in the U.S. criminal justice system, the trend toward
limited procedural protections for defendants and a shrinking judicial
role well predates the September 11 attacks. Indeed, security has been a
central justification for rights-limiting changes in the
criminal-justice system for decades.” Among the other authors in the
series are Anthony Lewis, John Shattuck, Gay McDougall, Cass Sunstein,
Gara LaMarche, and Mary Robinson. (The American Prospect, October 2004)
See International Death Penalty and Federal Death Penalty.
New York Times Article on the Science of Adolescent Brain Development
As the U.S. Supreme Court considers Roper v. Simmons, a case that will
determine the constitutionality of executing juvenile offenders, new
scientific research continues to emerge regarding the brain development
of those under 18 years of age. New MRI-based research has shown that
the brain continues to develop and mature into the mid-20’s, and that
prior to the completion of this process, adolescents use their brains in
different ways than adults. For example, teens often operate from a
more instinctual and reflexive part of the brain, and researchers have
found that adolescents in stressful situations lack the ability draw on
certain parts of the brain that are fully developed in adults to control
their behavior. “This is why kids who are good kids, who know right
from wrong, sometimes do stupid things. They act on impulse,” said Dr.
David Fassler, a psychiatrist in Burlington, Vermont, and a spokesman
for the American Psychiatric Association. The article in the New York
Times Magazine quoted the brief of the American Medical Association: “Scientists
can now demonstrate that adolescents are immature not only to the
observer’s naked eye but in the very fibers of their brain. Normal
adolescents cannot be expected to operate with the level of maturity,
judgment, risk aversion or impulse control of an adult.” While the
medical community is quick to point out that these scientific
developments do not excuse the actions of teen offenders, they do
believe that these developments prove that juvenile offenders are less
culpable than adults and should not be held to the same standard as
those whose brains are fully developed. (The New York Times Magazine,
October 17, 2004). See DPIC’s Roper v. Simmons Web page.
Iran Poised to End Juvenile Death Penalty
According to an Iranian justice department spokesperson, the Iranian
Parliament is expected to approve legislation that would end the death
penalty for offenders under the age of 18. The measure would also
prohibit lashings for those under 18. Under pressure from the European
Union to reform its human rights record, Iran has had no recorded
stonings since late 2002, and the parliament has enacted laws banning
torture and the upholding of citizens’ rights. (AFP, October 26, 2004).
The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard the case of Roper v. Simmons that
will determine the constitutionality of executing juvenile offenders in
the U.S.
Bush and Kerry Express Views on Executing Juvenile Offenders
In a forum hosted by the New Voters Project, U.S. Presidential
candidates George Bush and John Kerry expressed their views on executing
juvenile offenders. “Federal law prohibits execution of those under 18
when the offense was committed, and I see no reason to change that
statute,” said President Bush. Senator John Kerry stated, “I do not
think that executing minors is good policy.” (Knight-Ridder, October 17,
2004). On October 13th, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in
Roper v. Simmons, a case that will determine whether the execution of
juvenile offenders is constitutional. See Positions on Capital Punishment of the 2004 Presidential Candidates.
Newspapers, Opinion Leaders Call for End to Juvenile Death Penalty
As the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Roper v. Simmons
on October 13, newspapers throughout the country featured editorials
and opinion pieces calling on the U.S. to abandon the practice of
executing juvenile offenders:
The New York Times
When the Supreme Court considers an Eighth Amendment challenge, it looks
to “evolving standards of decency” - and there has been a steady
movement nationally away from the juvenile death penalty. In the 15
years since the Supreme Court last considered this question, a
significant number of states, including Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, South
Dakota and New York have prohibited the execution of juvenile offenders.
In 30 states and the District of Columbia, there now is either no death
penalty, or the death penalty applies only to people who were 18 or
older at the time of their crimes. Even in those states where juvenile
offenders can be executed, it is extremely rare. Only three states have
done so in the past decade.
When it considers this case, the court should give weight to the growing
scientific literature that says young people’s brains are still
developing in important ways before the age of 18, and to the nearly
unanimous international opinion on this issue.
On the same day in 1989 that the court upheld the death penalty for
juvenile offenders, it ruled that the mentally retarded could be
executed. But in 2002, the court reversed itself, concluding that
national standards of decency had evolved away from permitting the
execution of the mentally retarded. The court should reach the same
conclusion now for juvenile offenders. (New York Times Editorial,
October 13, 2004).
Chicago Tribune
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Wednesday in a
case that could lead to a legal prohibition on the execution of anyone
under 18 years old.
The high court in 1989 established the criteria for deciding whether
such executions are permissible. At that time, it found there was no
national consensus that the execution of juvenile offenders and the
mentally retarded violated the 8th Amendment protection against cruel
and unusual punishment.
…
In 2002, applying that same standard of national consensus and “evolving
standards of decency,” and looking in particular at what state
legislatures were doing about the issue, the court reversed itself and
declared that executions of those with mental retardation were
unconstitutional.
It’s difficult to see how the court could now reach a different
conclusion in regard to juveniles. The case against executing juveniles
is as strong as that against executing those who are mentally retarded.
…
The court in 1988 ruled it was impermissible to execute children under
age 16. The question at hand is whether, in effect, to extend such
protection to 16- and 17-year-olds.
In seeking evidence of a national consensus, the court is likely to
consider trends in jury sentences in capital cases, public opinion
polls, positions taken by professional and religious organizations and
even international practice. The direction in all of those realms
supports the argument that these executions should be eliminated.
Admittedly, it seems to be an odd way to determine constitutionality. Public consensus is usually the province of legislatures.
In this case, though, Congress and the states through a constitutional
amendment handed the courts the power to judge what is cruel and unusual
in criminal law. There was a time in this nation’s history when it was
considered appropriate to execute someone for stealing a neighbor’s
chicken. Things have evolved.
And now it’s time for them to evolve again. (Chicago Tribune, October 13, 2004).
The Washington Post
The Supreme Court has an opportunity this term to correct one of the
uglier mistakes of its recent history: its 1989 decision upholding the
death penalty for juveniles. Yesterday the court held oral arguments in a
case that asks whether it will continue to stand behind that ruling. It
shouldn’t. … Even for those who favor the death penalty, killing
juvenile offenders should be beyond the constitutional pale.
…
Of the 22 juvenile convicts executed since the death penalty’s
reinstatement, almost 60 percent were put to death in Texas. Only seven
states have executed juvenile offenders, and in the past 10 years, only
three states — Texas, Oklahoma and Virginia — have done so. … Juries
are increasingly reluctant to impose the death penalty on those who
were children when they committed their crimes. And while overseas
practice shouldn’t bind American constitutional law, it is worth noting
the company this country has to keep in subjecting juveniles to capital
punishment: China, Congo, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and
Yemen. The practice simply no longer exists among democratic nations.
Abolishing the juvenile death penalty will not dramatically alter the
debate over capital punishment in this country. It will, however, bring
to bear against a few outlying states the powerful national consensus
that children — even when they do terrible things — are different from
adults. Insulating them from the ultimate punishment should not be a
tough call. (The Washington Post, October 14, 2004).
USA Today (Opinion Piece by former President Jimmy Carter)
I am hopeful our top court will take this opportunity to acknowledge
that evolving standards of decency at home and abroad Ñ as well as basic
principles of American justice Ñ require the rejection of executing
children once and for all.
Opposition to juvenile capital punishment has gained significant momentum in the past few years in the United States.
…
The elimination of the juvenile death penalty would be a significant
step in bringing the U.S. in line with the moral consensus of the global
community. The Founders of our great nation celebrated the need for Òa
decent Respect to the Opinions of MankindÓ in our Declaration of
Independence. Since the end of World War II, our country has taken the
lead in speaking out against human-rights violations elsewhere in the
world and has enjoyed respect in world affairs.
The American system of constitutional democracy and guaranteed freedoms
has stood as an exemplar in the eyes of people and nations emerging from
totalitarian and repressive regimes. The continued policy of executing
juveniles detracts profoundly from our credibility as a champion of
human rights and, therefore, erodes our ability to influence the
behavior of other nations and world leaders.
While almost universal condemnation of the juvenile death penalty has
become as well recognized as the global prohibitions against slavery,
torture and genocide, in America we have executed more juveniles in the
past 15 years than all other countries combined.
For all of these reasons, I joined a Òfriend of the courtÓ brief to the
Supreme Court in this case. Nobel Peace Prize winners, including former
Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev, South African Archbishop Desmond
Tutu and the Tibetan Dalai Lama all have encouraged the court to reject
juvenile capital punishment. I fervently hope the jurists will agree
with these esteemed peacemakers.
Our nation is now acknowledging what the rest of the world already
knows: Executing juvenile offenders is cruel and inhumane. (USA Today,
October 13, 2004).
See Other Editorials on the Juvenile Death Penalty and Editorials.
Research with jurors Finds Reluctance to Sentence Juveniles to Death
A recently published study by Northeastern criminal justice professors
William J. Bowers and Michael E. Antonio, in conjunction with University
of Delaware professors Valerie P. Hans and Benjamin D. Fleury-Steiner,
finds jurors very reluctant to give the death penalty to juvenile
defendants because of their immaturity and dysfunctional family
backgrounds.
“In interviewing almost 1,200 jurors, we’ve found that jurors across the
nation would nearly always sentence a juvenile to life,” said Bowers.
“Jurors need to look at juveniles as immature and incapable of
committing the crimes for which they are on trial. As such, the
likelihood of a death sentence drops off drastically when jurors know
the defendant was under the age of 18 at the time of his crime.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 13, the United States Supreme Court is scheduled to
hear oral arguments about the constitutionality of the juvenile death
penalty in Roper v. Simmons. Christopher Simmons was 17 at the time of
his crime, but a jury convicted him and sentenced him to death. Earlier
this year, the Missouri Supreme Court set aside his death sentence on
the grounds that execution of persons under 18 years of age at the time
of their crimes violates the U.S. Constitution.
The decision-making of capital jurors is a key way to measure community
conscience, according to Prof. Valerie Hans, and the new study from the
Capital Jury Project examines the decision-making of 48 jurors from 12
capital cases with defendants 17 or younger at the time of their crimes,
comparing their views with more than a thousand jurors who decided
capital cases with older defendants. The extensive juror interviews
reveal that jurors view juvenile defendants distinctively. Jurors in
juvenile cases see a defendant’s dysfunctional family background and
upbringing as responsible in part for his or her behavior. They see the
defendant as less than a fully mature and responsible member of society.
Jurors emphasize the juvenile defendant’s diminished or partial
responsibility for the crime. All these factors lead jurors to decide on life rather than death for the vast majority of juvenile capital defendants.
The findings are based on data from the Capital Jury Project, a study of
the decision making of capital jurors conducted by university-based
researchers from 14 states with the support of the National Science
Foundation. The project has interviewed 1,198 jurors from 353 capital
trials in 14 states.
—A summary of the principal research findings can be found in an article titled “Capital Jurors as the Litmus Test of Community Conscience for the Juvenile Death Penalty”
in the May-June 2004 issue of the journal Judicature. —A full report
of the research findings can be found in an article titled “Too Young
for the Death Penalty: An Empirical Examination of Community Conscience
and the Juvenile Death Penalty from the Perspective of Capital Jurors” in the June 2004 issue of the Boston University Law Review. (Northeastern Univ. Press Release, Oct. 6, 2004). See also DPIC’s Roper v. Simmons page.
Research Shows Significant Decline in Death Sentences for Juveniles
In a forthcoming article, Columbia University researchers found that,
since 1994, when death sentences for juvenile offenders peaked, these
sentences have declined significantly. In particular, the decline in
juvenile death sentences since 1999 is statistically significant after
controlling for the murder rate, the juvenile homicide arrest rate, and
the rate of adult death sentences. This downward trend in juvenile
death sentences is indicative of an evolving standard in state trial
courts opposing the imposition of death sentences on minors who commit
capital offenses.
This evidence is relevant for the upcoming Supreme Court case of Roper
v. Simmons that will decide whether a national consensus has evolved
against such death sentences. One measure of this consensus would be a
lessening in the number of juveniles sentenced to death.
The Decline of the Juvenile Death Penalty: Scientific Evidence of Evolving Norms,
by Jeffrey Fagan and Valerie West of Columbia University, will be
presented at the Symposium on Actual Innocence at Northwestern
University in October and has been accepted for publication in the peer
reviewed publication, The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
(Press Release, Columbia Law School, Oct. 5, 2004) (Link to Press Release and Article). See “From DPIC” on DPIC’s home page, and DPIC’s Roper v. Simmons page.
Experts on Adolescence Call for End to Juvenile Death Penalty
An op-ed appearing in the Arizona Republic and authored by Dr. Mark
Wellek, past president of the American Society for Adolescent
Psychiatry, and Carol Kamin, current president of the Arizona Chapter of
the Children’s Action Alliance, echoed growing national concerns about
the culpability of juvenile offenders who face capital charges despite
scientific evidence that they may be less culpable than adult offenders.
Wellek and Kamin noted:
“American society has many gray areas. Our many cultures, systems and
ideologies overlap in small ways and larger ones. However, there is one
area that is completely distinct, and that is the law as it applies to
children.
“Laws prohibit those under 18 from serving in military combat and on
juries, voting, entering into contracts, and buying alcohol or
cigarettes, precisely because kids are different - they are physically,
emotionally and mentally immature.
“Groundbreaking new science reveals specific evidence of how these
differences determine adolescent behavior. Their development is delayed,
their minds operate differently, their emotions are more volatile and
their brains are anatomically immature.
“There is a confluence of evidence showing that the regions of the brain
that adults use to control and influence behavior are still
underdeveloped in adolescents.
“For example, the pre-frontal cortex, which is one of the last areas to
develop and mature in adolescents, is involved in the control of
aggression and other impulses, the process of planning for long-range
goals, organization of sequential behavior, consideration of
alternatives and consequences, the process of abstraction and mental
flexibility, and aspects of memory including ‘working memory.’
“3 states, Texas, Virginia and Oklahoma, have executed the majority of
juvenile offenders, which account for 80 % of all juvenile executions.
In fact, Texas alone was responsible for 60 % of juvenile executions.
Obviously, the juvenile death penalty is not widely practiced or even
popular. Nationwide polls consistently show that 70 % of Americans are
opposed to juvenile executions.
…
“In a criminal justice system dependent upon determinations of
culpability, scientific findings suggesting juveniles as a class are
indeed less culpable call for serious consideration. The U.S. Supreme
Court recognized the consequence of adolescent development in its 1988
decision to prohibit capital punishment for minors under age 16.
“31 states, the federal government, the U.S. military and the District
of Columbia prohibit the execution of juvenile offenders. Just this year
South Dakota and Wyoming signed bills into law banning the practice,
and similar legislation has passed in the New Hampshire Senate and
House, and the Florida Senate.
“This month, we joined the nation’s leading American medical, religious
and legal institutions, child- and victim-advocate groups and nearly 50
countries, along with prominent individuals including Nobel laureates
and former U.S. diplomats, in submitting briefs to the U.S. Supreme
Court, which is scheduled to hear arguments this fall in the case to end
the juvenile death penalty.
“The American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association,
American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry and several additional
medical associations filed amicus curiae briefs in support of ending
capital punishment for minors, and a cross section of more than 420
prominent pediatricians, child and adolescent psychiatrists and
neurologists, including such notable physicians as former Surgeon
Generals C. Everett Koop and Julius Richmond, and Doctors T. Berry
Brazelton and Alvin Poussaint, along with nine physicians from Arizona,
submitted the Health Professionals’ Call to Abolish the Juvenile Death
Penalty to the Court.
“Many prominent child welfare groups, including the Children’s Defense
Fund, Child Welfare League of America, Voices for America’s Children and
the Children’s Action Alliance of Arizona, submitted a brief as well.
“In their briefs the groups say that the juvenile death penalty violates
evolving standards of decency, that it serves no legitimate purpose and
is excessive in light of emerging evidence showing the limited
capabilities of juveniles, and that the practice is almost universally
rejected by the international community.
“The rest of the world, along with most of the country, has recognized
the senselessness of the juvenile death penalty. It is our hope that the
rest of our country will join these voices.”
(Arizona Republic, August 1, 2004)
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of the
juvenile death penalty this fall when it hears arguments in the case of
Roper v. Simmons. See DPIC’s Roper v. Simmons Web page.
National, International Leaders Urge Supreme Court to Ban Execution of Juvenile Offenders
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev, medical experts, and 48 nations
are among those who filed friend-of-the-court briefs on Monday, July
19, 2004, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to end the juvenile death
penalty. The Court is scheduled to hear arguments this fall in Roper v.
Simmons, a case that will determine the constitutionality of executing
juvenile offenders. The U.S. is one of only a handful of nations around
the world that continues to permit the execution of juvenile offenders,
and one of only five nations (Congo, China, Iran, Pakistan, and the
U.S.) to carry out such executions during the past four years, according
to the brief filed by Nobel Peace Prize winners, including Carter and
Gorbachev. The Court also received briefs from the 25-nation European
Union, Mexico, Canada, and other nations that argued that executions of
juvenile offenders “violates widely accepted human rights norms and the
minimum standards of human rights set forth by the United Nations.”
Similar briefs were filed by former U.S. diplomats, the American
Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops. (Associated Press, July 19, 2004) View the Amicus Briefs. See DPIC’s Roper v. Simmons page.
POSSIBLE INNOCENCE: DNA Evidence Leads to Juvenile Offender’s Release
Following a fifth round of DNA tests, a Louisiana death row inmate has
been released on bond while awaiting a new trial. Earlier this year,
Ryan Matthews’ conviction and death sentence were overturned. The recent
round of DNA tests on a ski mask, which prosecutors claimed was worn by
Matthews during the crime, excluded Matthews but matched the genetic
markers of another inmate. To date, no physical evidence linking
Matthews to the crime has been found. Following the latest round of DNA
testing, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s office did not oppose
Matthews’ request for bond. Matthews was a juvenile at the time the
crime was committed. His attorneys indicated that he suffers from mental
retardation and a seizure disorder. (Times-Picayune, June 23, 2004) See
Innocence.
Death Penalty Took Heavy Toll on Malvo Jurors
Although Virginia jurors in the trial of Lee Boyd Malvo maintained their
camaraderie during the six weeks of trial and deliberations on whether
he was guilty of capital murder in one of a series of sniper shootings,
the group became sharply divided when weighing the question of whether
to sentence the teen to death. The jury foreman and a second member of
the jury revealed that a core group of four jurors did not believe
Malvo’s role in the murders warranted the death penalty. They stated
that the debate between life and death destroyed the previously cordial
atmosphere within the group. Juror Susan Schriever, who supported a
death sentence in the case, stated, “I couldnÕt understand how people
sat in the same trial and didnÕt feel the same way.” Juror James
Wolfcale, a Virginia Beach pastor who also favored the death penalty for
Malvo, said that he was sorry to see the friendships among the jurors
quickly break down during the sentencing phase. “I’m not sure I ever
want to see them again,” said Wolfcale of the jurors who supported a
life sentence. Wolfcale said some of those who supported a life sentence
argued that the punishment would be worse than a death sentence for the
young defendant. (Washington Post, June 19, 2004) See Life Without Parole.
Psychiatrists Say Teen brains Still Developing
As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in Roper v. Simmons
regarding the death penalty for juvenile offenders, researchers have
found critical evidence that the brain continues to change dramatically
during adolescence. This research may help explain the impulsive, often
irrational behavior seen in some teenagers. “Kids may know the
difference between right and wrong, but that does not stop them from
doing dumb and dangerous things that they would never think of doing as
adults,” stated David Fassler, a child psychiatrist and professor of
psychiatry at the University of Vermont. Fassler and other psychiatric
experts base their statements on brain research that shows that the
front lobe, the part of the brain that controls reason, develops last.
Researchers at David Geffin School of Medicine at the University of
California at Los Angeles, Harvard Medical School, the National
Institute of Mental Health, and elsewhere have conducted a series of
studies in recent years that follow the development of the brain from
childhood to adulthood. This research has found that the frontal cortex,
the part of the brain that controls the most advanced functions of the
brain and acts as the body’s “CEO” by allowing humans to plan,
anticipate consequences, control impulses, prioritize thoughts and think
in the abstract, continues to develop for individuals into their 20s.
Prior to the brainÕs full development, a more primitive part of the
brain, known as the amygdala, controls decision-making.
Brain-development research has led a number of national mental health
organizations, including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association and the American
Society for Adolescent Psychiatry, to plan to jointly file a legal brief
on behalf of juvenile offender Christopher Simmons to the Supreme
Court. The Court will hear the case this fall. (The Wall Street Journal,
May 26, 2004) See DPIC’s Web page on Roper v. Simmons.
State Legislators Advance Bills to Ban Juvenile Death Penalty
Just weeks after legislators in Wyoming and South Dakota passed legislation to ban the execution of juvenile offenders, lawmakers in
are on a similar course that may send a bill that eliminates the death
penalty for those under the age of 18 to Governor Jeb Bush for signature
into law. Members of the Florida Senate passed the juvenile death
penalty ban by a vote of 26-12, and the House is expected to take up the
measure later this week. Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, who had
been opposed to raising the minimum the age for capital offenders, has
indicated that he will allow House members to “vote their conscience”
when considering the bill. The legislation’s House sponsor,
Representative Phillip Brutus of Miami, noted, “I think it will be a
pretty strong vote. To invoke the harshest penalty of all - which is
death - when somebody is 17 years old is wrong.” If the Florida
legislature passes and Governor Bush signs the bill into law, the state
will become the 20th in the nation to ban the practice and the third
state to enact this policy in 2004. New Hampshire’s House and
Senate overwhelmingly voted for a similar bill earlier this month, but
Governor Craig Benson has vowed to veto the legislation. The Supreme
Court will consider the constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty
this fall when it hears arguments in Roper v. Simmons. (Various news
sources including the Sun-Sentinel of Florida and The Union Leader of
New Hampshire, April 27, 2004).
Rosalynn Carter Calls for End to Juvenile Death Penalty
In a recent opinion piece published in The Miami Herald, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter
called on Florida and other states that continue to sentence juvenile
offenders to death to abandon the practice, noting that it “violates
current principles of American justice.” Carter stated that America
could soon be the last nation on Earth to execute juvenile offenders,
and that the U.S. is one of only two nations that have not ratified the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Carter wrote:
“Our country has sought to protect juveniles in almost every facet of
their life, enacting laws prohibiting those younger than 18 years old
from using alcohol or cigarettes, entering into contracts, voting or
serving in armed combat. We spend millions on drug-prevention outreach
and sex education in our schools. Yet, when it comes to the most serious
of crimes committed by juveniles, we fail to acknowledge their lessened
culpability and inflict the severest of punishments.
“Adolescents are not adults. They lack full capacity to reason, control
impulses and understand consequences. They do not handle social
pressures and other stresses like adults do and therefore, are less
culpable than adults who commit crimes. Scientific studies demonstrate
their lessened responsibility. We previously believed that the brain was
fully developed by age 14, but recent studies have revealed that it
continues to mature until the early 20s.
“We also know that the frontal lobe, which controls the brain’s most
complex functions — particularly reasoning — undergoes more change
during adolescence than at any other time. It is the last part of the
brain to develop.
“Such findings have led the American Psychiatric Association, the
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American
Society of Adolescent Psychiatry to oppose the death penalty for
juveniles.
“If adolescents who grow up in warm and loving environments cannot fully
reason or control their impulses as research has shown, then abused
children suffer immense emotional and developmental disadvantages. A
2003 study found that on average, juveniles on Death Row have had
multiple experiences of physical or sexual abuse, substance abuse,
mental disorders or are living in poverty. An earlier study of 14
juveniles sentenced to death found that 12 had been physically or
sexually abused, some at the hands of relatives. We as a society have
failed to protect or treat these children and are ill prepared to deal
with them when some of them commit horrible crimes.
“Acknowledging the lesser culpability of juvenile offenders does not
minimize the suffering and impact upon their victims’ families.
Tragically, there are juveniles who commit terrible crimes. But
punishment is to be imposed according to the degree of culpability of
the offender.
…
“I hope the Supreme Court will rule later this year when it hears the
case of Roper vs. Simmons that juvenile executions are unconstitutional
‘cruel and unusual punishment.’ Meanwhile, the American public should
send a message to the court through their state legislatures that
‘“evolving standards of decency” do not tolerate executing juvenile
offenders.”
(Miami Herald, April 7, 2004) See New Voices.
South Dakota Legislators Vote to Ban Death Penalty for Juveniles
Legislation banning capital punishment for crimes committed by those
younger than 18 has passed both the South Dakota House and Senate. The
bill will now go to Governor Mike Rounds for signature into law.
Republican Representative Hal Wick of Sioux Falls supported the
bipartisan measure, stating, “I do have concerns about heinous crimes,
but I don’t think it’s our place to destroy or forget the sanctity of
life. Violent responses by the state beget more violence. The state must
lead by example. Instead of encouraging a culture of death by killing
criminals, we must seek punishment for crimes that respects the dignity
of human life and at the same time serves human justice.”
Internationally, the U.S. is one of only a handful of countries that
allow the execution of juvenile offenders. (Argus Leader, February 25,
2004) Nationally, the federal government and 17 of the 38 states that
have the death penalty ban the execution of the juvenile offenders.
Rounds’ signature would make South Dakota the 18th death penalty state
to abandon the practice. The U.S. Supreme Court will consider the
constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty this fall when it hears
arguments in Roper v. Simmons. See DPIC’s Roper v. Simmons page.
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 Recent Legislative Activity.
Florida Capital Punishment Supporter Urges State to Abandon Juvenile Death Penalty
Florida Senator Victor Crist (R-Tampa), a long-time death penalty
supporter, is asking his legislative colleagues to support a bill to bar
the juvenile death penalty in Florida. “In my heart and soul I believe
it’s the right thing to do. There is a certain essence of juveniles that
make them different,” said Crist. Research supports that notion. David
Fassler, a Vermont psychiatrist who helped the American Academy of Child
and Adolescent Psychiatry draft its policy against capital punishment
for juveniles stated, “[L]aws raising the drinking age to 21 or setting
the voting age at 18 already recognize that adolescents are different
than adults. Now we really have very solid scientific evidence that,
even when they do horrible things, they shouldn’t face the same
punishment as adults.” Crist believes the bill will succeed in the
Senate, which passed a similar measure in 2001. Nationally in 2004,
South Dakota and Wyoming have both abandoned the juvenile death penalty,
bringing the total number of states that forbid the practice to 31,
including the 12 non-death penalty states. The Supreme Court will
consider the constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty this fall
when it hears arguments in Roper v. Simmons. (Orlando Sentinel, March 8,
2004) For editorials from around the country in support of such a
measure, see DPIC’s Roper v. Simmons page.
Despite Upcoming Supreme Court Argument, Texas Schedules Execution Dates for Four Juvenile Offenders
Texas has scheduled the execution of four juvenile offenders between
March and June of 2004 despite the fact that the U. S. Supreme Court has
agreed to review whether such executions are constitutional. Arguments
in Roper v. Simmons, No. 03-633, a case from Missouri where the state
Supreme Court ruled that the execution of those under the age 18 at the
time of their crime would be cruel and unusual punishment, are not
expected to take place until this coming fall, months after the
scheduled executions of Edward Capetillo, Anzel Jones, Efrain Perez, and
Raul Villarreal. All of these defendants were 17 years old at the time
of their crimes. Requests for stays of execution are being filed.
Typically, cases in the same posture as one before the Supreme Court are
held up until the Court rules. There are 73 juvenile offenders on death
row in America. Only two juvenile offenders received death sentences in
2003, the fewest in 15 years. See Supreme Court.
