UUSC applauds Supreme Court decision
abolishing death penalty for juveniles

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee applauds the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to prohibit the execution of juvenile offenders. The Service Committee welcomed the landmark ruling as a significant step in bringing the United States into line with international law and human rights standards.

“Prior to the ruling, the United States was the last remaining nation to legally condone the death penalty for child offenders,” said UUSC President Charlie Clements. “The decision removes this moral stigma and offers hope that we will rejoin the international community as a leader in the protection of the human rights of children.”

“The imposition of the death penalty rests on morally unacceptable assumptions of governmental authority and retribution, and untenable arguments about its deterrent effect. We have long been committed to abolishing capital punishment throughout the United States and the Supreme Court has taken another step toward that ultimate goal.”

In a 5-4 decision announced on March 1, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty for anyone under 18 violates the constitutional protection against “cruel and unusual punishment,” and that teenagers are too emotionally immature to be held to the same standards of accountability as adults. The court said a “national consensus” had developed against executing juveniles and that international sentiment was overwhelmingly against it.

“The Supreme Court appropriately highlighted the isolation of the United States as the only country that still gives official sanction to the juvenile death penalty,” said Dr. Clements.

“This decision also removes one of the last remaining obstacles to U.S. ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Unfortunately, our nation is out of step with the rest of the world on this question as well. The convention, which specifically prohibits the execution of juveniles, has been ratified by every country except the United States and Somalia.”

The United States has withheld ratifying the convention because of its ban on juvenile executions and another provision prohibiting the use of children under 18 as soldiers in armed conflict. 
 

Posted March 3, 2005