Abolish the Death Penalty for 16 and 17 Year Olds
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Richmond, VA
January 30, 2004
CONTACT: Sue Rafferty,
Legislative Assistant, (804)698-1047
On February 4, 2004 Delegate Al Eisenberg made the following floor speech in the Virginia House of Delegates on the Juvenile Death Penalty (HB1341):
"Virginia should abolish the death penalty for 16 and 17 year olds. I do not entirely oppose the death penalty. I would have pulled the lever myself to send the Nazi war criminals to hell.
But, I believe, with an overwhelming number of Americans, that executing high school students is wrong.
Yes, teenagers can and do commit horrendous crimes, and such crimes must be punished and harshly. And our hearts first and foremost must go out to the victims and their families. Yet, I believe that the ultimate penalty for teenagers does not belong in a civilized society. They are not adults, and we should not throw away all chance in salvaging a life from a life lost.
The death penalty is losing favor. States have been reluctant to execute 16 and 17 year olds. A Gallup poll shows that 69 percent of Americans oppose the death penalty for offenders under 18.
The following organizations, among many others oppose this death penalty: the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; the National Mental Health Association; the Children's Defense Fund; the American Academy of Pediatrics; the American Baptist Churches; the American Bar Association; the American Jewish Committee; the American Psychiatric Association; Catholic Bishops of America; the Child Welfare League; the Presbyterian Church USA; the National Education Association; the United Methodist Church; the National Council on Crime; the American Law Institute; and the American Psychological Association. Perhaps the most important of all is the Families of Victims, who see most clearly that the cycle of death among young people must stop.
Twenty-eight states and the federal government prohibit executions of offenders under age 18. Of the 22 states allowing such executions, only 15 have juvenile offenders on death row. Since 1976, Virginia has executed three who were juveniles at the time of their crime. Only three countries-the United States, Iran and China still execute juvenile offenders. We are in very disreputable company.
Several others-Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and the Congo have the penalty but haven't used it in years. In 2002, Texas was the only jurisdiction in the world to execute a juvenile offender. Last year, Oklahoma and China were the only such jurisdictions in the world to do so.
There is no reputable study that has demonstrated that executing juveniles has any broad deterrence value whatsoever. In fact, a review of states that do not have the death penalty shows lower crime rates than those that continue to apply it.
Scientific studies also show that 16 and 17 year olds are not adults; they are not fully formed. They are incomplete. Anybody who has teenage children knows how awful their judgment can be. Harvard University Medical Center has shown through MRI research that the adolescent brain doesn't mature until 18-22. The part of the brain necessary for inhibition and goal directed behavior is not full operational until then. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's studies found similar results.
Two-thirds of all juveniles sentenced to death in the U.S. had backgrounds of abuse, profound psychological disturbances, low IQ, and/or intensive deprivation.
Executing high schoolers does not further the cause of justice. Rather it demeans justice by reducing it to revenge. Our society deserves better."
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