"This would suggest that the death penalty against child offenders has been the more 'unusual' of the two practices", Amnesty International said. "It is no less cruel".
"In the Atkins case, the Supreme Court found that the traits of people with mental retardation render the goals of deterrence and retribution unachievable,"
Amnesty International said. "Characteristics of children, such as impulsiveness, poor judgment, and susceptibility to peer pressure or adult influence, surely lead to the same conclusion. Indeed, scientific evidence indicates that brain development continues into a person's 20s."
The immaturity of teenagers is widely recognized in US laws. Under-18s cannot serve on a jury, yet can be condemned by those considered responsible enough to sit on one. In Louisiana, under-18s are prohibited from witnessing an execution, yet seven people currently await execution there for crimes committed when they were 16 or 17.
In the Atkins ruling, the Supreme Court acknowledged that "within the world community" the execution of the mentally retarded is "overwhelmingly disapproved". The disapproval is even clearer in the case of child offenders. Such executions are prohibited by several treaties and have been the subject of numerous resolutions at the UN Commission on Human Rights.
"In the Atkins case, the Supreme Court found that the traits of people with mental retardation render the goals of deterrence and retribution unachievable,"
Amnesty International said. "Characteristics of children, such as impulsiveness, poor judgment, and susceptibility to peer pressure or adult influence, surely lead to the same conclusion. Indeed, scientific evidence indicates that brain development continues into a person's 20s."
The immaturity of teenagers is widely recognized in US laws. Under-18s cannot serve on a jury, yet can be condemned by those considered responsible enough to sit on one. In Louisiana, under-18s are prohibited from witnessing an execution, yet seven people currently await execution there for crimes committed when they were 16 or 17.
In the Atkins ruling, the Supreme Court acknowledged that "within the world community" the execution of the mentally retarded is "overwhelmingly disapproved". The disapproval is even clearer in the case of child offenders. Such executions are prohibited by several treaties and have been the subject of numerous resolutions at the UN Commission on Human Rights.