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The juvenile death penalty: A frustrated society's attempt for control
Author(s) -
Ogloff James R. P.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2370050408
Subject(s) - mens rea , juvenile , criminology , punishment (psychology) , doctrine , state (computer science) , psychology , law , computer security , political science , criminal law , computer science , social psychology , biology , genetics , algorithm
Abstract The United States is alone among western industrialized nations in allowing a provision for the juvenile death penalty. Specifically, 92% of the juveniles presently sentenced to death were convicted under a felony‐murder doctrine which eliminates the state's burden of proving the mens rea requirement for murder. The high rate of felony‐murder convictions of juveniles on death row is highly inconsistent with theories of punishment which have traditionally been used to support the death penalty.