Juvenile death penalty unconstitutional

[strandinthewind]

High court: Juvenile death penalty unconstitutional

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, cited the fact 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.

Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/01/sc....ap/index.html

[strandinthewind]

no surprise it was 5-4

[GypsySorcerer]

I read that this morning. It's about time.

[GateandGarden]

My best friend did a presentation in one of her classes about how barbaric it is to execute minors, and it's sad how she was met with strong opposition. I just don't get it. Thanks for posting that; I'm glad to see the verdict. Too bad that it was 5-4.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

no surprise it was 5-4

Ooh. Let me guess who the five were: Ginsburg, Stevens, Souter, Breyer and O'Connor.

[strandinthewind]

I think the arguments on both sides are interesting. However, the studies, I think, show the DP is not a deterrent or at least not so significant a deterrent that it warrants the validation of executing an innocent person.

Again, I mostly am against the DP and at times am totally against it. Then, I think about people like Timothy McV. and OBL and I change my mind. I am only human - so sue me

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by GypsySorcerer

I read that this morning. It's about time.

No kidding.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

Ooh. Let me guess who the five were: Ginsburg, Stephens, Souter, Breyer and O'Connor.

I am trying to find the decision.

[gldstwmn]

Oh my gah, Kennedy voted in favor?

[strandinthewind]

March 1, 2005
Supreme Court Bars Death Penalty for Juvenile Killers
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ASHINGTON -- 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.

from www.nytimes.com

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

March 1, 2005
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
from www.nytimes.com

A woman? Jesus H. Christ. Bet she's pro-life.

[strandinthewind]

Supreme Court Rules Death Penalty for Youths Unconstitutional

Tuesday, March 01, 2005



NEW YORK — The U.S. Supreme Court (search) ruled on Tuesday that the death penalty for 16- and 17-year-old offenders is unconstitutional.

The 5-4 decision in Roper v. Simmons (search) affects 19 states that still subject youths to capital punishment, along with 72 death-row inmates who committed their crimes as teenagers.

In a somewhat surprising development, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, previously seen as the "swing" voter in the case, joined Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas in a dissent.

Rather, Justice Anthony Kennedy, who in 1989 voted in favor of upholding the death penalty for 16- and 17-year-olds, wrote the majority opinion.

"When a juvenile offender commits a heinous crime, the state can exact forfeiture of some of the most basic liberties, but the state cannot extinguish his life and his potential to attain a mature understanding of his own humanity," Kennedy quoted from the majority ruling.

Justices David H. Souter, John Paul Stevens, Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg also voted with the majority.

The offender in question in the case, Christopher Simmons, robbed and killed a 46-year-old Missouri woman in 1993, when he was 17. While a 1998 high court decision prevented his 15-year-old accomplice from being tried for capital murder, Simmons was convicted and sent to death row.

The five affirming justices based their opinion on the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments — specifically, on the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

The court's decision marks the third biggest restriction on the death penalty in 17 years, and may be seen by advocates as moving the United States closer to a full abolition of capital punishment.

FOX News' Anna Persky contributed to this report.

http://www.ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/ne...ote=1&p=272474

[gldstwmn]

BTW, this is the most liberal decision to come down the pike in a while. It makes me a little bit hopeful that we haven't gone completely off on the right wing rail.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

A woman? Jesus H. Christ. Bet she's pro-life.

She is the most powerful member of the Court. She is the swing vote and thus the most sought after. She is pro-choice to a certain degree.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

She is the most powerful member of the Court. She is the swing vote and thus the most sought after. She is pro-choice to a certain degree.

I still don't get it.