moratorium on the death penalty for juveniles - duke law.pdf

MORATORIUM ON THE DEATH PENALTY FOR JUVENILES VICTOR L. STREIB* I INTRODUCTION The American people have been executing their children in the pursuit of justice for more than three and one half centuries, beginning with the earliest days of Plymouth Colony.1 The most recent executions of juvenile offenders, as of this writing, occurred in April and May of 1998.2 This centuries-old system of death for children’s crimes has always had major flaws,3 and the post-1972 modern era4 is little better. However, it was not until the last decade that 5 6 American courts and scholars stumbled across this odd subtopic within the death penalty system. Now after fifteen years of debating, legislating, and deciding cases about the death penalty for offenders who commit crimes while Copyright © 1998 by Law and Contemporary Problems This article is also available at /journals/61LCPStreib. * Dean and Professor of Law, Ohio Northern University. 1. The first documented execution of a juvenile offender is that of Thomas Graunger in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, in 1642, who was age 16 at the time of his crime and execution. See VICTOR L. STREIB, DEATH PENALTY FOR JUVENILES 73 (1987) (citing sources). 2. Joseph John Cannon was executed in Texas on April 22, 1998, for a crime committed at age 17. Charisse Jones, Texan Executed for Crime Committed at 17, USA TODAY, Apr. 23, 1998, at 2A. Robert Anthony Carter was executed on May 18, 1998, also in Texas, for a crime he committed at age 17, as well. See Michael Graczyk, Houston Man Executed for 1981