Death in Prison Sentences for 13- and 14-Year-Olds
Dominic Culpepper has been sentenced to imprisonment until death in Florida for a crime committed at age 14. View Slideshow
In the United States, dozens of 13- and 14-year-old children have been sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole after being prosecuted as adults. While the United States Supreme Court recently declared that death by execution is unconstitutional for juveniles, young children continue to be sentenced to die in prison with very little scrutiny or review. EJI has documented 74 cases where children 14 years of age or younger have been condemned to death in prison. Almost all of these kids currently lack legal representation and in most of these cases the propriety and constitutionality of their extreme sentences has never been reviewed.
Most of the sentences imposed on these children were mandatory: the court could not give any consideration to the child’s age or life history. Some of the crimes charged against these children do not involve homicide or even injury. Many of these children were convicted for offenses where older teenagers or adults were involved and primarily responsible for the crime. Nearly two-thirds of these adolescents are children of color.
EJI has launched a litigation campaign to challenge death in prison sentences imposed on young children. We are also working to increase public awareness in order to reform policies that reflect a lack of perspective and hope for young children.
News
United States Supreme Court Will Review Joe Sullivan's Sentence to Die in Prison for Offense at Age 13
May 4, 2009The United States Supreme Court today decided that it will review the case of Joe Sullivan, who was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in Florida for an offense at age 13 that did not involve a killing.California Appeal Court Declares Life Without Parole Sentence Unconstitutional for 14-Year-Old Antonio Nunez
April 30, 2009On April 30, 2009, a California appeal court struck down a life imprisonment without parole sentence imposed on Antonio Nunez, a 14-year-old child convicted of aggravated kidnapping. The court declared the sentence to be cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment and the California Constitution.EJI Continues Challenges to Death-in-Prison Sentences for 13- and 14-Year-Old Children
April 8, 2009
Photo by Steve Liss
The Equal Justice Initiative recently filed challenges in several states to sentences to life imprisonment without possibility of parole imposed on children for offenses at age thirteen or fourteen. In spite of a major loss of funding, EJI lawyers have filed cases in Mississippi, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Delaware in the past several weeks.
EJI Honors Kenneth Frazier and Randy Hertz and Celebrates the Release of Bo Cochran and Phillip Shaw
April 7, 2009
Kenneth Frazier (left) won the release of James "Bo" Cochran, who spent 19 years on Alabama's death row for a crime he did not commit.
EJI Urges Delaware Supreme Court to Strike Down Death-in-Prison Sentence for 14-Year-Old
February 5, 2009
Photo by Steve Liss
In oral argument at the Delaware Supreme Court in Dover on February 4, 2009, EJI's Bryan Stevenson argued that the court should strike down as unconstitutional life imprisonment without parole sentences imposed on fourteen-year-old children. EJI represents Donald Torres, who was sentenced to die in prison in Delaware for an offense that occurred when he was just fourteen years old.