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Childhood Abuse And Adult Murder: Implications For The Death Penalty, Phyllis L. Crocker Jan 1999

Childhood Abuse And Adult Murder: Implications For The Death Penalty, Phyllis L. Crocker

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

A jury that convicts a defendant of capital murder must then decide whether that defendant deserves a life sentence or death. Mitigating evidence is crucial to the defense at this stage because such evidence may provide the jury with a basis for imposing a life sentence. In this article, Professor Crocker argues that evidence that a defendant was abused as a child is paradigmatic mitigating evidence. A detailed presentation of the defendant's childhood experience and a cogent explanation of its long-term repercussions will enable the jury to understand why the defendant committed the crime, perhaps allowing the jury to sympathize …


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, Connie De La Vega, Jennifer Fiore Dec 1998

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, Connie De La Vega, Jennifer Fiore

Connie de la Vega

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.