17
Executed for Crimes as Juveniles
NEW
YORK (AP) - Since 1973, 17 men have been executed in the United
States for crimes committed as juveniles, including four this year,
according to the Justice Department
A
new report by the department's Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention said 74 other offenders are on death row
for crimes committed before they turned 18.
Of
the 38 states that have the death penalty, 23 permit the execution
of offenders who committed capital crimes before turning 18. Such
policies were upheld in a 1988 Supreme Court ruling.
The
United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child states that
crimes committed by a juvenile should not result in execution or
life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
President
Clinton signed the convention in 1995, but the U.S. Senate has not
ratified it. According to the Justice Department, the United
States and Somalia are the only U.N. members who have not ratified
the accord.
U.S.
critics opposed the convention on several grounds, saying it would
encourage government interference in family matters and override a
state's right to impose the death penalty for murders commited by
minors.
Amnesty
International says the United States is one of six countries that
has executed prisoners since 1990 who were under 18 at the time of
their crime. The other countries, according to the human rights
group, are Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
|