No More Juvenile Offenders on Virginia's Death Row

The Virginia Supreme Court recently overturned the death sentence of the only juvenile offender on Virginia's death row. The court ruled that Shermaine A. Johnson's death sentence should be vacated and he should receive a new sentencing trial because his jury was not told that Johnson would not be eligible for parole if sentenced to life imprisonment.  The state attorney general's office acknowledged that Johnson's jury should have been told that a life sentence really meant life.  (Washington Post, 9/25/01) 

   Last year, the only other juvenile offender on Virginia's death row, Chauncey Jackson, had his conviction overturned.  The state decided not to pursue the death penalty at his re-trial.