The Death Penalty and Minors

Paper Summary:

This paper begins with a brief history of the death penalty as practiced on a worldwide basis and then looks at how it has been applied in the U.S.. Next, the paper takes a look at the recent Supreme Court finding regarding the death penalty and minors and explains that, while at one time the age of an offender was not a factor in issuing the death penalty, it has become gradually become an important factor which points toward a general trend in the direction of of a total ban on the death penalty for minors.

From the Paper:

"Death Penalty was extensively applied in the olden times across the world. The modern crusade for banning of capital punishment started in the 18th century with the writings of Montesquieu and also Voltaire. Some of the nations which took a lead in abolishing capital punishment are Venezuela in 1863, San Marino in 1865 and Costa Rica in 1877. Presently, more than 50% of the countries of the world have abolished the death penalty either by way of legal enactment or practice. The U.S. Supreme Court quashed state death penalty laws. But again in 1976, the Court restored the death penalty following the espousal of new procedures. Since 1982 till 1999, 250 to 350 persons were sentenced to death every year, however, in the last three years; the number of death sentences has come down remarkably. Among the 50 states, 13 states have abolished the death penalty and 5 more states have refrained from executing any convicts. However, the historic decision on March 1, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court banned the death penalty intended for minors. Before this ruling, minors faced death penalty in most of the states where death penalty is being practiced. (Death Penalty: News Batch) "

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