Of the 3,700 people on death row today, two percent were juveniles at the time they committed their offenses.[i]  Since 1973, 18 juvenile offenders have been executed.[ii] Nearly twenty-five percent of these executions occurred in 2000 alone. One contributing factor to this outrageous statistic is the fact that almost every state in the past nine years has made it easier to try juveniles as adults.[iii]

Though the United States is the most outspoken country in human rights issues, it remains the only nation in the world that has not yet ratified the United Nations Convention Article 37a, which states that “Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without the possibility of release shall be imposed for offenses committed by persons below eighteen years of age.”[iv] Seventy-two males who were under eighteen years old at the time of the crime are now serving death sentences in the United States.[v]

NMHA considers the execution of people for crimes they committed as children to be unjust and inhumane, serving no principled purpose, and demeaning to our system of justice. For this reason, NMHA joins with the American Bar Association (ABA) in their call for a moratorium of the imposition of the death penalty.

Impulsiveness, poor judgment, and a lack of self-control are frequently characteristics of childhood and are the reasons why our society limits many of the rights of minors. Despite this, since 1992, almost every state has made it easier to try juveniles as adults. In 1999, seven jurisdictions did not specify a minimum age for the death penalty sentence. Seventeen states consider children between ages fourteen and seventeen to be eligible for the death penalty.[vi]

Studies show that victims of child abuse or neglect are over represented in the juvenile justice system, including those on death row. Children with these prior histories consistently demonstrate a high incidence of mental disorders, serious brain injuries, substance abuse and learning disabilities, which may predispose to aggressive or violent behavior. However, these juveniles never received adequate diagnostic assessments or interventions for the mental health disorders that could have led them to community-based treatment facilities instead of death row.[vii]

Additionally, the death penalty is not reserved for the most serious young offenders. It is applied primarily to poor children, African-American youth, and children with significant mental health problems and trauma histories. NMHA believes that the age, maturity, mental status, and any childhood history of abuse or trauma of a youthful offender should always be considered in deciding his or her punishment. Young people under age 18 should not be held to the same standard of culpability and accountability for their actions as adults.

[i] Death Penalty Focus. Facts Main Page: Death Row Statistics.                                                                         Available: www.deathpenalty.org/facts/other/facts_statistics.shtml

[ii] Streib, V. (June 2000). The Juvenile Death Penalty Today: Death Sentences and Executions for Juvenile Crimes. Ohio Northern University.

[iii] The Sentencing Project. Briefing / Fact Sheets: Prosecuting Juveniles in Adult Court – An Assessment of Trends and Consequences. Available: www.sentencingproject.org

[iv] American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Policy Statement: Juvenile Death Sentences.     Available: www.aacap.org/publications/policy/ps42.htm.

[v] The Death Penalty Information Center. Juveniles and the Death Penalty.

Available: www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/juvchar.html.

[vi] US Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. Bureau of Justice Statistics: Capital Punishment 1999.

Available: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cp99.pdf.

[vii] American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Policy Statement: Juvenile Death Sentences.

Available: www.aacap.org/publications/policy/ps42.htm#TOD