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Applying Roper v. Simmons in juvenile transfer and waiver proceedings: a legal and neuroscientific inquiry.
- Source :
-
International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology [Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol] 2011 Aug; Vol. 55 (5), pp. 732-55. Date of Electronic Publication: 2010 Jun 04. - Publication Year :
- 2011
-
Abstract
- In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court held the death penalty unconstitutional as applied to juveniles in Roper v. Simmons. The Court reasoned that juveniles were less criminally culpable than adults because they lack maturity, they are more vulnerable to peer influence, and their character is not as well formed as that of adults. Although Roper addressed the imposition of the ultimate punishment of death within the context of a juvenile's moral blameworthiness for a crime of murder, this article considers the application of the Court's reasoning in Roper to the issue of juvenile waiver. Specifically, the author asks the question whether Roper's ultimate language distinguishing juveniles from adults in capital cases should apply to the conventional practice of their trial and sentencing as adults. Despite the fact that juvenile transfer is a less serious sanction than the death penalty, this inquiry confronts the traditional objective of the juvenile court system, a system of punishment that was founded on rehabilitation rather than retribution. The author questions whether the punitive objectives of deterrence and retribution are satisfied by juvenile waiver and whether the mitigating effect of adolescence negates the trial of youth as adults.
- Subjects :
- Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior psychology
Capital Punishment legislation & jurisprudence
Developmental Disabilities physiopathology
Executive Function physiology
Humans
Prefrontal Cortex growth & development
United States
Adolescent Development physiology
Criminal Law legislation & jurisprudence
Juvenile Delinquency legislation & jurisprudence
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1552-6933
- Volume :
- 55
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 20525819
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X10371283