Discussion Week 6

This is a partial listing of the case law history of the death penalty for juveniles consist of:

1966 – 1st Case – Kent vs United States – waiver submitted and affirmed – tried in U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia.

Referred to: https://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/coordcouncil/cc_03.html

1980 – Eddings vs Oklahoma –
First case the Supreme Court agreed to hear based on age (Eddings – 16 years of age – murdered a highway patrol officer). Motion made to have Eddings tried as an adult for 1st degree murder – District Court of Creek County – found guilty.

Referred to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0455_0104_ZO.html

1988 – Thompson vs Oklahoma –
Thompson was found guilty in the participation of Charles Keen and was tried as an adult…this was the first case since the moratorium on capital punishment was lifted in the United States – Suprement Court. Sentenced to death in an Oklahoma trial court – District Court of Grady County in Chickasha, Oklahoma.

Referred to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thompson_v._Oklahoma

1989 – Stanford v. Kentucky & Wilkins V. Missouri –
The U.S. Supreme Court sanctioned the imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were at least 16 years of age at the time of crime. Death penalty upheld and by the U.S. Supreme Court. Both cases held concurrently.

Referred to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_v._Kentucky

Since the year of 1973, 196 juvenile death sentences were imposed since 1973, 1974 (38 percent) remain in force and 105 (54 percent) have been reversed. 17 actual executions of juveniles were allowed.

Referred to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0455_0104_ZO.html

Excerpt from: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/184748.pdf

Table 1. Executions of Juvenile Offenders,

January 1, 1973, through June 30, 2000

Name Date of Execution Place of Execution..Race..Age at Crime..Age at Execution

Charles Rumbaugh 9/11/1985 Texas White 17 28
J.Terry Roach 1/10/1986 S. Carolina White 17 25
Jay Pinkerton 5/15/1986 Texas White 17 24
Dalton Prejean 5/18/1990 Louisiana Black 17 30
Johnny Garrett 2/11/1992 Texas White 17 28
Curtis Harris 7/1/1993 Texas Black 17 31
Frederick Lashley 7/28/1993 Missouri Black 17 29
Ruben Cantu 8/24/1993 Texas Latino 17 26
Chris Burger 12/7/1993 Georgia White 17 33
Joseph John Cannon 4/22/1998 Texas White 17 38
Robert A. Carter 5/18/1998 Texas Black 17 34
Dwayne A.Wright 10/14/1998 Virginia Black 17 26
Sean R. Sellars 2/4/1999 Oklahoma White 16 29
Christopher Thomas 1/10/2000 Virginia White 17 26
Steve E. Roach 1/19/2000 Virginia White 17 23
Glen C. McGinnis 1/25/2000 Texas Black 17 27
Gary L. Graham 6/22/2000 Texas Black 17 36

Source: Streib, 2000.

The history for juveniles regarding the death penalty has prevalently been a concern of the justice system and how to approach it fairly. Currently 38 states authorize the death penalty – 23 of these permit the execution of offenders who committed capital offenses prior to their 18th birthday.

In the manner of Graham v. Florida … I disagree with the ruling that allowed Graham to be released from the proposed sentence of life and subsequently allowed to him probation with the first 12 months spent in a county detention facility. It is a credible thought that allows a slight propensity that a juvenile offender will be able to be rehabilitated and allow entry in society and able to function. It still does not reflect that this person will not react violently and be the predator that he is as is reflected by his behavioral pattern that allowed him to be in the court system of justice anyway…the person is violent and dangerous and a threat to society and should be kept in prison as the original sentence stipulated. Further because not six months later this same offender was caught committing a felony that could have resulted in the death of the victimized and during the interim of this time what other offenses has this offender being doing that he was not caught or apprehended for. Life as we know it is still a wish for youth to be saved but unfortunately realities must be addressed and that is that youth today are angry, sullen, resentful, violent and a danger to be aware of and should be addressed as such and dealt with accordingly. Allowances are what they are … not a reflection of action against violence and the need to deal with it and repress it.

Consider a situation where a 16-year-old male rapes, beats and severely injures a young girl leaving her paralyzed and with low brain function for the rest of her life.

The male of 16 years of age should be tried as an adult and given the amount of time for rape, assault and battery and attempted murder.

My recommendations:

For this person is the death penalty to be enforced in a timely manner to not exceed three years with no chance for appeal whatsoever and overturning of judgment if the crime takes place in the state where the death penalty is allowed otherwise life in prison.

This is not a case but an example of what justice could result in and that is that a youth of today can murder an adult and be faced with the most lenient of charges –held in detention until the age of 21 years of age. This is to me a travesty of justice … I could not get away with this kind of behavior and why should they.

Example

14-Year-Old Charged with Murder, Rape of Teacher

By Jason Beahm on August 2, 2010 9:14 AM| No TrackBacks

A tragic case out of Maryland has left a 65-year-old teacher dead and a 14-year-old boy charged with murder and facing the possibility of being tried as an adult. The boy was 13 when he allegedly raped and killed teacher Hannah Wheeling in a state detention facility. Prosecutors have filed papers requesting to try the boy as an adult. Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr. will be hearing the matter on August 27.

"Whoever wins that, wins the case," said Byron L. Warnken, a longtime University of Baltimore law professor, according to the Baltimore Sun.

The 14-year-old boy, whose name has not been released due to his age, was being held at Cheltenham Youth Facility on burglary charges when Wheeling was killed. He quickly became a suspect after being seen with Wheeling shortly before her death.

Wheeling was giving the boy a test at around 4 p.m. and at around 5 p.m., the boy was seen running up the stairs in an anxious manner, according to anonymous sources. Wheeling was found murdered at 8 a.m. the next day. She had been bludgeoned, strangled and raped. Investigators found three shirts with Hannah Wheeling's blood on them, one with the boys name on it.

The reason that professor Warnken believes that the case will turn on the August 27th hearing is because of the major differences in punishment between adult and juvenille court.

If the boy is charged with murder as an adult, he has the potential of facing up to life in prison with no chance of parole. According to The Baltimore Sun, if he is charged as a juvenile, the worst he can face is confinement in a juvenile rehabilitation facility until he is 21 years old.

ANOTHER ACT OF VIOLENCE

Girl, 11, raped by schoolboy street gang members in McDonald's restaurant toilet

• Involved up to eight members of the same street gang
• The sex attacks took place on three separate dates
• Thugs beat her up to make sure she kept quiet

By Jill Reilly

UPDATED: 13:34 EST, 1 March 2012

An 11-year-old girl was raped in a McDonald’s toilet in a campaign of sex attacks involving up to eight underage members of a street gang, a court heard yesterday.

They took it in turns to rape the child a dozen times over several months at various east London locations.

As if the ordeal of being raped wasn't enough, they later beat her up as a warning not to tell anyone about what had happened.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2108287/Girl-11-raped-schoolboy-street-gang-members-McDonalds-restaurant-toilet.html#ixzz2300zR0Xd