Death Penalty and Life Imprisonment
Article 37 of the Convention prohibits sentencing children under 18 years old to death or life imprisonment with no opportunity for parole. The United States currently complies with this article after three successive Supreme Court decisions:
In 2002, 22 U.S. states allowed for the execution of juvenile offenders. This ceased after the 2005 Supreme Court decision Roper v. Simmons, which found juvenile execution unconstitutional as "cruel and unusual punishment". The decision cited the Convention as one of several indications that "the United States now stands alone in a world that has turned its face against the juvenile death penalty".
The 2010 decision Graham v. Florida prohibited the sentencing of juveniles to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for non-homicide crimes. As of the Graham decision, only 6 U.S. states prohibited such sentences in all cases.
The June 2012 Supreme Court decision Miller v. Alabama Certiori to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, No. 10-9646 (Argued March 20, 2012 - Decided June 25, 2012), majority opinion delivered by Justice Elena Kagan, held that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders.
Read more about this topic: US Ratification Of The Convention On The Rights Of The Child
Famous quotes containing the words death, penalty, life and/or imprisonment:
“Oh! death will find me long before I tire
Of watching you.”
—Rupert Brooke (1887–1915)
“It is odd that the NCAA would place a school on probation for driving an athlete to class, or providing a loan, but would have no penalty for a school that violates Title IX, a federal law.”
—Cardiss L. Collins (b. 1931)
“After I discovered the real life of mothers bore little resemblance to the plot outlined in most of the books and articles I’d read, I started relying on the expert advice of other mothers—especially those with sons a few years older than mine. This great body of knowledge is essentially an oral history, because anyone engaged in motherhood on a daily basis has no time to write an advice book about it.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“... imprisonment itself, entailing loss of liberty, loss of citizenship, separation from family and loved ones, is punishment enough for most individuals, no matter how favorable the circumstances under which the time is passed.”
—Mary B. Harris (1874–1957)