The Supreme Court of the United States has Been Called Upon to Determine the Legality of the Juvenile Death Penalty in Michael Domingues v. State of Nevada

Abstract

This article summarizes the arguments made against the juvenile death penalty in a U.S. Supreme Court amici curiae brief in Domingues v. State, 961 P.2d 1279 (Nev. 1998), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 963 (1999), and rebuts some of the State's propositions made in its response. It argues that United States' obligation to faithfully comply with its treaty obligations (particularly under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), as well as the customary international law and jus cogens norm do not permit the execution of juveniles for crimes committed while below the age of eighteen.

Keywords: Juvenile death penalty, Domingues v. State of Nevada, capital punishment, cruel and unusual punishment, international law, human rights