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Child Welfare League of America Praises Supreme Court Ruling in Juvenile Death Case
For more information, contact
Joyce Johnson
Phone: 804/492-4519
Cell: 703/980-7641
E-mail: jjohnson@cwla.org
March 1, 2005, Washington, DC -- The Child Welfare League of America is in strong agreement with today's U.S. Supreme Court decision against the practice of executing juvenile offenders for crimes committed before the age of 18.
"This ruling by a majority of the justices affirms the opinions of many legal scholars, psychological and medical associations, advocates for youth and the public that executing juvenile offenders is cruel and unusual punishment," said Shay Bilchik, CWLA President and CEO.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion that... "The prohibition against 'cruel and unusual punishments,' like other expansive language in the Constitution, must be interpreted according to its text, by considering history, tradition, and precedent, and with due regard for its purpose and function in the constitutional design. To implement this framework we have established the propriety and affirmed the necessity of referring to the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society to determine which punishments are so disproportionate as to be cruel and unusual."
The Court's decision is consistent with International law and the Hague Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is also consistent with the latest scientific research on brain development showing that the ability of youth to make rational decisions, curb impulsiveness, and exercise self-control is much less developed in our juveniles than in adults. "This decision effectively removes the United States from the company of countries such as Iran and the Republic of Congo that favor the death penalty for juveniles. It will allow the 72 individuals currently on death row for capital crimes committed while they were juveniles to have their sentences changed to life without the possibility of parole," noted Bilchik.
CWLA joined this case by signing onto an amicus brief drafted by the American Bar Association's Juvenile Justice Center urging the Court to ban the death penalty for juvenile offenders.
Shay Bilchik, formerly a prosecutor in Miami, Florida and the Director of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the U. S. Department of Justice, is available for interviews and comment on this decision. To schedule an interview please call Joyce Johnson at 202/942-0244 or by e-mail at jjohnson@cwla.org.
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