JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY

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JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY

• Thomas Granger, the first juvenile known to be
  executed in America, was tried and found guilty
  of bestiality in 1642 in Plymouth Colony, MA.
• Since 1642, at least 366 juvenile offenders have
  been executed, an average of almost exactly one
  per year.

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JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY

• Twenty-two of these 366 executions for juvenile
  crimes were carried out from 1973-2003.
• The majority of juvenile executions occur in
  Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia.
• No other state has executed a juvenile offender
  in the last 10 years.

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JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY

• Of the 22 juvenile executions
• Texas has 13 (59)
• Virginia has 3 (14)
• Oklahoma has 2 (9).
• These three states together account for 81 of
  all juvenile executions in the current era.

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Jurisdictions W/O Death Penalty

• Alaska
• District of Columbus
• Hawaii
• Iowa
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Michigan

• Minnesota
• North Dakota
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin

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Death Penalty

• A total of 226 juvenile death sentences have been
  imposed since 1973.
• This accounts for only 3 of the approximately
  7,425 death sentences imposed for all offenders.

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JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY

• Of the 226 juvenile death sentences, only 78
  remain on death row.
• Only 22 have been executed.
• 126 have been reversed or commuted to life
  imprisonment.

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JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY

• In the last few years, the juvenile death
  sentencing rate has declined significantly.
• The 7 death sentences in 2000 and 2001 were only
  half of the typical rate in the preceding 6
  years.

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JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY

• As of June 30, 2003, 78 juveniles were on death
  row.
• This accounts for 2 of the total death row
  population of approximately 3,500.

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JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY

• Almost all (98) juvenile offenders sentenced to
  death were males.
• The 5 cases involving female juveniles were in
  the deep south (Mississippi, Alabama, and
  Georgia) and in Indiana.
• 34 of the juvenile offenders are white.
• 17 are Latin.

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JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY

• Only 13 of the 23 states with the death penalty
  for juvenile offenders have juveniles on death
  row.
• They have been on death row from 3 weeks to 23
  years.
• Texas has the largest death row for juvenile
  offenders, holding 28 (36) of the 78.

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Brain Development and Culpability
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New Research

• Recently, research on the prefrontal cortex has
  been revealed by Harvard Medical School, UCLA and
  the National Institute of Mental Health.
• The prefrontal cortex is the last part of the
  brain to develop.

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Frontal Lobe

• The prefrontal cortex, located in the frontal
  lobe, controls our most advanced functions such
  as
• abstract thinking
• controlling impulses
• ability to plan ahead
• consideration of consequences to our actions

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What they found

• MRIs were taken of the brains of numerous
  subjects over a period of several years.
• Myelineation (replacement of gray matter with
  white matter) allows the brain to process more
  efficiently.
• Develops last in the frontal lobe of the brain
  and is not complete until the early 20s.

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Harvard Research

• Dr. Deborah Yurgelun-Todd at Harvard University
  McLean Hospital found that young people do not
  process emotion in the same way as adults.
• MRI research showed showed that the amygdala is
  the part of the brain used by adolescents to make
  decisions, prior to the maturation of the
  prefrontal cortex.

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Harvard Research

• The amygdala is the part of the brain that
  mediates fear and gut reactions.
• Once the frontal lobe has matured, the brain
  begins the more efficient usage of this portion
  for reasonable decision making activities.

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Brain Maturation

• Males reach brain maturation even later than
  females, perhaps not until the age of 22 years.
• This results in a physically mature, but mentally
  immature individual.
• Dr. Ruben Gur believes that the brain is actually
  retarded.

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Atkins v. Virginia

• Dr. Gur has compared these research findings to
  the Supreme Court decision of Atkins v. Virginia.
  
• In this 2002 decision, the Supreme Court banned
  the execution of mentally retarded persons.

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Dr. Gur and Atkins v. Virginia

• Gur argues that the standards for deciding the
  cutoff age for persons being eligible for
  execution should be raised to the early 20s as
  the brain has only then reached maturity for
  decision making.

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What will cause a legal change?

• Donald P. Roper, Superintendent, Potosi
  Correctional Centers v. Christopher Simmons
• Missouri case arguing that executing persons
  under 18 is unconsitutional.
• In February, Justice Scalia stayed the execution
  of Anzel Keon Jones, until the case of Simmons
  can be decided by the Supreme Court.

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Roper v. Simmons

• On March 1, 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that
  juvenile execution is unconstitutional.
• The vote was 5-4.
• This ruling affects 72 death row inmates in 12
  states.

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Christopher Simmons

• In 1993, Simmons forced Shirley Crook from her
  bed, hog-tied her, covered her face with duct
  tape, drove her to a train trestle, and threw the
  still conscious woman over the rail.
• Fishermen found Crooks body two days later.

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• Anzel Jones was convicted of brutally murdering a
  50-year-old woman and sexually assaulting her
  mother, cutting her throat and burning their
  Texas home in 1995.
• These crimes were committed one afternoon when
  Jones had only been 17 for a few months

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MALE 62 FEMALE 46
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Question 6 What is your race?
African American 36 Hispanic
9 Asian 1
Inter-racial 3 Caucasian 59
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0-20 11 41-60 40 41-60 52
61-80 5
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YES 91 NO 16
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42
66
YES 42 NO 66
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18
91
YES 91 NO 18
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51
56
YES 56 NO 51
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Question 5 What do you believe the minimum age
should Be at the time of offense to qualify one
for the death penalty?
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• DEATH PENALTY FALLACIES
• Racism
• Cost
• Innocence