Capital punishment in the United States

Capital punishment in the United States is officially sanctioned by 38 of the 50 states, as well as by the federal government. The overwhelming majority of executions are performed by the states; the federal government maintains the right to use capital punishment (also known as the death penalty) but does so infrequently. Each state practicing capital punishment has different laws regarding its methods, age limits, and crimes which qualify. The United States is second only to the People's Republic of China in the number of death sentences passed.

Ages of condemned prisoners

The minimum age at time of crime to be subject to the death penalty is 18. Until March 2005, the United States was one of only eight countries in the world to practice the death penalty on juveniles—criminals aged under 18 at the time of their crime. The remaining nations are Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Related Topics:
March 2005 - Bangladesh - Iran - Iraq - Nigeria - Pakistan - Saudi Arabia - Yemen

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Since 1642 (in the 13 colonies, the United States under the Articles of Confederation, and the current United States) an estimated 364 juvenile offenders have been put to death by states and the federal government. Twenty-two of the executions occurred after 1976, in seven states. Due to the slow process of appeals, it was highly unusual for a condemned person to be under 18 at the time of execution. The last execution of a juvenile may have been Leonard Shockey, executed on April 10, 1959 at the age of 17. No one has been under age 19 at time of execution since at least 1964. http://users.bestweb.net/~rg/execution.htm, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=27&did=206.

Related Topics:
13 colonies - Articles of Confederation - Leonard Shockey - April 10 - 1959

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Before 2005, of the 38 U.S. states that allow capital punishment:

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• 19 states and the federal government had set a minimum age of 18,
• Five states had set a minimum age of 17, and
• 14 states had explicitly set a minimum age of 16, or were subject to the Supreme Court's imposition of that minimum.

Sixteen was held to be the minimum permissible age in the 1988 Supreme Court of the United States decision of Thompson v. Oklahoma. The Supreme Court, considering the case Roper v. Simmons, in March 2005, found execution of juvenile offenders unconstitutional by a 5-4 margin. State laws have not been updated to conform with this decision. Under the US system, unconstitutional laws do not need to be repealed, but are instead held to be unenforceable.

Related Topics:
Supreme Court of the United States - Thompson v. Oklahoma - Roper v. Simmons - March 2005

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