AI USA Statement on U.S. Supreme Court Hearing Oral Arguments in Roper v Simmons

Amnesty International USA Statement on U.S. Supreme Court Hearing Oral Arguments in Roper v. Simmons Case on Juvenile Executions

10/13/2004 11:53:00 AM

To: National Desk

Contact: Edward Jackson of Amnesty International USA, 202-544-0200 ext. 302 or 202-251-3894 (cell)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Today Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, released the following statement as the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Roper v. Simmons, a case that will decide if executing juvenile offenders is constitutional:

"Ours is allegedly the era of 'Leave No Child Behind,' but the U.S. practice of sentencing juveniles to death stands in stark contrast to that sentiment. The most extreme example of leaving a child behind is the misguided notion that children can commit crimes so irredeemable that society would be better off if they were dead. This is a proposition shared only by nations like China and Iran.

Virtually every industrialized nation in the world -- even those that still practice the death penalty -- treats children differently from adults. Children cannot vote or buy alcohol, for example, because they are correctly regarded as less fully developed and hence less responsible for their actions than adults. The same rationale for placing those limits on children, however, is utterly ignored when it comes to holding them responsible for crimes and sentencing them to death. The Court must correct this inconsistency and end this outdated, almost singular practice, once and for all."

------

For more information on the death penalty: http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception as it is the ultimate denial of human rights, and we will continue to demand unconditionally its worldwide abolition.