What is Criminal Justice? Research Paper Example

Introduction

The death penalty especially for juveniles has been one of the most controversial issues in the criminal justice. In the US, the Supreme Court on March 1, 2005 declared that according to the constitution, the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments outlaw the capital punishment of offenders who had not yet attained 18 years of age at the time the offences were committed. This demonstrated the divisions in the U.S. Supreme Court in relation to this matter (American Bar Association, 2004).

In the Simmons v. Roper, 112 S.W.3d 397 (Mo. 2003) the Supreme Court was of the opinion that sentencing juvenile offenders to death, infringes on the developing values of decency and is outlawed by the Eighth Amendment veto on cruel and unusual punishment of the US Constitution.  On January 26, 2004 the Supreme Court granted certiorari on the case and decided to reassess the constitutionality of capital punishment of juvenile offenders. In subsequent similar cases, such as Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002), the Supreme Court held that principles of decency had progressed. The Supreme Court held that juveniles are categorically less guilty than average adult criminals (American Bar Association, 2004).

The ethical implication of this subject is demonstrated in the decision of several Supreme Court judges who are of the opinion that principles of decency had progressed such that the death sentence for juveniles was now unconstitutional (American Bar Association, 2004). The death penalty infringes on the convict’s right to life as stipulated in the constitution. It is the ultimate, irreparable denunciation of human rights (Amnesty International, 2011).

The trend of courts’ rulings in relation to cases of violent criminal acts is seen in the performance of juries. The rate of reversal for death penalties imposed on juvenile offenders is an atrocious 85%. Juries are also more and more unenthusiastic to impose the death penalty on juveniles. In 2003, death penalties on juvenile dropped to a mere 2% of the entire death penalties imposed. Conspicuously, a Virginia jury collectively preferred a life in prison penalty over the death sentence for juvenile Lee Malvo. These trends propose reluctance amongst jurors, prosecutors, and judges to impose and execute juvenile death penalties (American Bar Association, 2004).

References

American Bar Association, (2004). Juvenile Justice Center Cruel & Unusual Punishment: The Juvenile Death Penalty, Evolving Standards of Decency. NW Washington, DC 20005

Amnesty International, (2011). Abolish the Death Penalty. Retrieved June 07, 2011 from http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/campaigns/abolish-the-death-penalty