The death penalty and juveniles
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The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibit the death penalty for crimes committed before the age of eighteen. It is one of the clearest prohibitions in international law, and yet sentences and executions continue to be documented against people who were minors at the time of the offence, often in proceedings where the age itself is disputed.
This page collects the news on those cases.
Latest news
- JUNE 22, 2005TexasDEATH PENALTY
TEXAS, USA. GOVERNOR COMMUTES 28 DEATH SENTENCES
Gov. Rick Perry commuted the death sentences of 28 convicted killers. Perry ordered the commutations in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in March that the Constitution forbids executing anyone for a crime committed before the age of 18.
- APRIL 15, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. TEENAGER FACING EXECUTION FOR CRIME COMMITTED AS MINOR
a teenager was sentenced to death for a crime he was alleged to have committed when he was 17 years old, according to the Ettemad daily.
- APRIL 6, 2005YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN. PRESIDENT PUTS EXECUTION OF JUVENILE ON HOLD
President Salih stopped the execution of Hafiz Ibrahim in Taiz, Yemen, at the last moment. Ibrahim, 17, was convicted in 2004 of killing a man and was due to be executed the day the president intervened.
- MARCH 9, 2005IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. DEATH PENALTY FOR TWO CONVICTED OF RAPING AND KILLING 8 YEAR OLD
the Kamrup District and Sessions Court in Guwahati, India, sentenced to death two people in connection with the rape and murder of a minor girl.
- JANUARY 28, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child called on Iran on to abolish the death penalty
the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child called on Iran on to abolish the death penalty
- FEBRUARY 23, 2004South CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
A Union County jury decided that Wesley Shafer, sent...
A Union County jury decided that Wesley Shafer, sent to death row in 1998 for killing a convenience store clerk, will now serve the rest of his life in prison
- DECEMBER 8, 2003KentuckyDEATH PENALTY
On his final day in office, Gov
On his final day in office, Gov
- SEPTEMBER 25, 2003MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The Malaysian Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged...
The Malaysian Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged five men who appealed against their conviction and death sentence for the 26 July 1998 murder of A
- MAY 14, 2003MissouriDEATH PENALTY
The minimum age at which committing murder could be...
The minimum age at which committing murder could be punished by death would rise to 17 from the current 16, under a change in state law endorsed by the Missouri Senate
- FEBRUARY 12, 2003VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
Lawyers for juvenile sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo...
Lawyers for juvenile sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo challenged the constitutionality of Virginia's death penalty law
- AUGUST 28, 2002TexasDEATH PENALTY
Toronto Patterson, now 24, was executed Wednesday evening
Toronto Patterson, now 24, was executed Wednesday evening
- AUGUST 8, 2002TexasDEATH PENALTY
T.J. Jones was executed today in the death chamber...
T.J. Jones was executed today in the death chamber of the Huntsville "Walls" Unit
- MAY 8, 2002United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
A teenager who was handed the death penalty on the...
A teenager who was handed the death penalty on the charge of dealing in narcotics has realised what a difference a day makes
- DECEMBER 3, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Supreme Court upheld a death sentence for a man...
The Supreme Court upheld a death sentence for a man who killed four members of a family in 1992 in a murder-robbery when he was a minor
- NOVEMBER 3, 2001PakistanDEATH PENALTY
Ali Sher, 21, was hanged for murder at the district...
Ali Sher, 21, was hanged for murder at the district prison in Timergarah, Pakistan
- JUNE 23, 2000TexasDEATH PENALTY
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary...
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and Asma Jahangir, the Commission's Special Rapporteur on summary or arbitrary executions, expressed deep regret over the execution of Gary Graham, a prisoner who had been convicted of a cri
- MAY 8, 1999FloridaDEATH PENALTY
On May 8, the Florida Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in the...
On May 8, the Florida Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in the case of Keith Brennan that the execution of a defendant who was 16 years old at the time of his crime would be unconstitutional