Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-2004

Keywords

Capital jurors, Death penalty, Capital punishment, Capital sentencing, Simmons v. Roper, Eighth Amendment, Juvenile death penalty, Capital Jury Project, CJP

Disciplines

Criminal Law | Criminal Procedure | Fourteenth Amendment | Juvenile Law

Abstract

This fall, the United States Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty in Simmons v. Roper. The Eighth Amendment issue before the Court in Simmons will be whether the juvenile death penalty accords with the conscience of the community. This article presents evidence that bears directly on the conscience of the community in juvenile capital cases as revealed through extensive in-depth interviews with jurors who made the critical life-or-death decision in such cases. The data come from the Capital Jury Project, a national study of the exercise of sentencing discretion in capital cases conducted with the support of the National Science Foundation.

Publication Citation

Published in: Judicature, vol. 87, no. 6 (May-June 2004).

Share

COinS