Supreme Court Ends Death Penalty for Youths - VGF

Link47 · 03-01-2005, 12:15 PM

Source: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050301/D88I8SPO1.html

Quote:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Constitution forbids the execution of killers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes, ending a practice used in 19 states.

The 5-4 decision throws out the death sentences of about 70 juvenile murderers and bars states from seeking to execute minors for future crimes.

The executions, the court said, were unconstitutionally cruel.

It was the second major defeat at the high court in three years for supporters of the death penalty. Justices in 2002 banned the execution of the mentally retarded, also citing the Constitution's Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishments.

The court had already outlawed executions for those who were 15 and younger when they committed their crimes.

Tuesday's ruling prevents states from making 16- and 17-year-olds eligible for execution.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, noted that most states don't allow the execution of juvenile killers and those that do use the penalty infrequently. The trend, he noted, was to abolish the practice.

"Our society views juveniles ... as categorically less culpable than the average criminal," Kennedy wrote.

Juvenile offenders have been put to death in recent years in just a few other countries, including Iran, Pakistan, China and Saudi Arabia. All those countries have gone on record as opposing capital punishment for minors.

The Supreme Court has permitted states to impose capital punishment since 1976 and more than 3,400 inmates await execution in the 38 states that allow death sentences.

Justices were called on to draw an age line in death cases after Missouri's highest court overturned the death sentence given to a 17-year-old Christopher Simmons, who kidnapped a neighbor in Missouri, hog-tied her and threw her off a bridge. Prosecutors say he planned the burglary and killing of Shirley Crook in 1993 and bragged that he could get away with it because of his age.

The four most liberal justices had already gone on record in 2002, calling it "shameful" to execute juvenile killers. Those four, joined by Kennedy, also agreed with Tuesday's decision: Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, as expected, voted to uphold the executions. They were joined by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Currently, 19 states allow executions for people under age 18: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Texas and Virginia.

In a dissent, Scalia decried the decision, arguing that there has been no clear trend of declining juvenile executions to justify a growing consensus against the practice.

"The court says in so many words that what our people's laws say about the issue does not, in the last analysis, matter: 'In the end our own judgment will be brought to bear on the question of the acceptability of the death penalty,' he wrote in a 24-page dissent.

"The court thus proclaims itself sole arbiter of our nation's moral standards," Scalia wrote.

***CaptHayfever*** · 03-01-2005, 02:41 PM

As both a strong supporter of children's rights and someone who watches too many web cartoons, I have this to say:

I concuw. Not last pwace. Ding! [img]smile.gif[/img]

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

GRENTLEMEN · 03-01-2005, 03:40 PM

I seriously don't understand how the government could ever declare teens incapable of clearly making their own decisions yet ultimately punishable for their own actions. So perhaps they'll finally stop giving the kids the shaft, one way or another.

Nick · 03-01-2005, 04:01 PM

Good.

**Booyakasha** · 03-01-2005, 10:11 PM

Bah. One or two kids are put to death, and they act as if the world's coming to an end. Buncha whiners.

Link2000 · 03-01-2005, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Great Tyrant:
Good.

The Missing Link · 03-01-2005, 11:33 PM

So long as they don't abolish the possibility of trying a child as an adult under extenuating circumstances, I'm cool with that.

"There are some who call me... Link?"

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Nick · 03-02-2005, 02:44 AM

Its not going after trying minors as adults (that's the next logical step, though I doubt any challenges to that would actually win), its abolishing the execution of minors. If someone isn't "mature" enough in the eyes of the state to smoke, drink, enlist in the military, operate heavy machinery, drive, and an entire range of other "mature" activities that have age limits, I fail to see how they are mature enough to be executed.

The Missing Link · 03-02-2005, 03:22 AM

^ I understand that.

I was merely stating where I would draw the line in granting my acceptance.

"There are some who call me... Link?"

"Carpe Gaium Domesticum!" (Seize the Cucco!)
Zelda: The Grand Adventures | Triforce MUCK
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Chunky Kong12345 · 03-02-2005, 09:33 AM

I wasn't aware that kids had a death penalty.

The Missing Link · 03-02-2005, 09:21 PM

^ It wasn't more that they had one but rather there wasn't one forbidding them. When you're tried as an adult...

"There are some who call me... Link?"

"Carpe Gaium Domesticum!" (Seize the Cucco!)
Zelda: The Grand Adventures | Triforce MUCK
ザ行方不明リンク
悪いユウモアの賢人

03-01-2005, 10:11 PM	#5
Booyakasha Mod of War Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Wisconsinland Gender: Posts: 6,812 Thanks: 75 Thanked 340 Times in 221 Posts Points: 9,970.64 Bank: 20,637.07 Total Points: 30,607.71 Donate	Bah. One or two kids are put to death, and they act as if the world's coming to an end. Buncha whiners. __________________ Boo--the only dude bad enough to rescue the president

03-01-2005, 02:41 PM	#2
*CaptHayfever* Smash Supermod Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: (n) - the place where I am Gender: Posts: 19,288 Thanks: 161 Thanked 738 Times in 477 Posts Points: 105,644.48 Bank: 923.79 Total Points: 106,568.27 Donate	As both a strong supporter of children's rights and someone who watches too many web cartoons, I have this to say: I concuw. Not last pwace. Ding! [img]smile.gif[/img] And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

03-01-2005, 03:40 PM	#3
GRENTLEMEN Retro Nintendo Supermod Art & Literature Mod Metroid Mod Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I rub my tilde all over your asterisk Gender: Posts: 15,897 Thanks: 458 Thanked 1,160 Times in 631 Posts Points: 6,928.78 Bank: 1,830,360.28 Total Points: 1,837,289.06 Donate	I seriously don't understand how the government could ever declare teens incapable of clearly making their own decisions yet ultimately punishable for their own actions. So perhaps they'll finally stop giving the kids the shaft, one way or another.

03-01-2005, 04:01 PM	#4
Nick Banned Join Date: Dec 1969 Posts: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Points: 10,322.00 Bank: 500.00 Total Points: 10,822.00 Donate	Good.

03-01-2005, 11:33 PM	#7
The Missing Link Professional Lurker Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: New Hyrule, Washington, US Gender: Posts: 15,575 Thanks: 80 Thanked 183 Times in 110 Posts Points: 6,806.45 Bank: 55,328.64 Total Points: 62,135.09 Donate	So long as they don't abolish the possibility of trying a child as an adult under extenuating circumstances, I'm cool with that. "There are some who call me... Link?" "Carpe Gaium Domesticum!" (Seize the Cucco!) Zelda: The Grand Adventures \| Triforce MUCK ザ行方不明リンク悪いユウモアの賢人

03-02-2005, 02:44 AM	#8
Nick Banned Join Date: Dec 1969 Posts: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Points: 10,322.00 Bank: 500.00 Total Points: 10,822.00 Donate	Its not going after trying minors as adults (that's the next logical step, though I doubt any challenges to that would actually win), its abolishing the execution of minors. If someone isn't "mature" enough in the eyes of the state to smoke, drink, enlist in the military, operate heavy machinery, drive, and an entire range of other "mature" activities that have age limits, I fail to see how they are mature enough to be executed.

03-02-2005, 03:22 AM	#9
The Missing Link Professional Lurker Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: New Hyrule, Washington, US Gender: Posts: 15,575 Thanks: 80 Thanked 183 Times in 110 Posts Points: 6,806.45 Bank: 55,328.64 Total Points: 62,135.09 Donate	^ I understand that. I was merely stating where I would draw the line in granting my acceptance. "There are some who call me... Link?" "Carpe Gaium Domesticum!" (Seize the Cucco!) Zelda: The Grand Adventures \| Triforce MUCK ザ行方不明リンク悪いユウモアの賢人

03-02-2005, 09:33 AM	#10
Chunky Kong12345 BEEP BEEP I'M A JEEP Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: ogmftwbqq Gender: Posts: 16,420 Thanks: 61 Thanked 210 Times in 153 Posts Points: 2,485.15 Bank: 82,146.48 Total Points: 84,631.63 Donate	I wasn't aware that kids had a death penalty.

03-02-2005, 09:21 PM	#11
The Missing Link Professional Lurker Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: New Hyrule, Washington, US Gender: Posts: 15,575 Thanks: 80 Thanked 183 Times in 110 Posts Points: 6,806.45 Bank: 55,328.64 Total Points: 62,135.09 Donate	^ It wasn't more that they had one but rather there wasn't one forbidding them. When you're tried as an adult... "There are some who call me... Link?" "Carpe Gaium Domesticum!" (Seize the Cucco!) Zelda: The Grand Adventures \| Triforce MUCK ザ行方不明リンク悪いユウモアの賢人