In a forthcoming article, Columbia University researchers found that, since 1994, when death sentences for juvenile offenders peaked, these sentences have declined significantly. In particular, the decline in juvenile death sentences since 1999 is statistically significant after controlling for the murder rate, the juvenile homicide arrest rate, and the rate of adult death sentences. This downward trend in juvenile death sentences is indicative of an evolving standard in state trial courts opposing the imposition of death sentences on minors who commit capital offenses.

This evidence is relevant for the upcoming Supreme Court case of Roper v. Simmons that will decide whether a national consensus has evolved against such death sentences. One measure of this consensus would be a lessening in the number of juveniles sentenced to death.

The Decline of the Juvenile Death Penalty: Scientific Evidence of Evolving Norms, by Jeffrey Fagan and Valerie West of Columbia University, will be presented at the Symposium on Actual Innocence at Northwestern University in October and has been accepted for publication in the peer reviewed publication, The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. (Press Release, Columbia Law School, Oct. 5, 2004) (Link to Press Release and Article). See “From DPIC” on DPIC’s home page, and DPIC’s Roper v. Simmons page.