List of juvenile offenders executed in the United States

This is a list of juvenile offenders executed in the United States. This list consists of those people executed in the United States for crimes committed while they were juveniles (before reaching the age of majority). Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, 22 people have been executed for crimes committed while they were under the age of 18. All of the 22 executed individuals were males. Twenty-one of them were age 17 when the crime occurred; one, Sean Sellers (executed on February 4, 1999, in Oklahoma), was 16 years old when he murdered his mother, stepfather, and a store clerk.

Since 1642, (in the Thirteen Colonies, the United States under the Articles of Confederation, and the current United States), an estimated 364 juvenile offenders have been put to death by states and the federal government. Twenty-two of those executions occurred after 1976. Due to the slow process of appeals since 1976, it has been highly unusual for a condemned person to actually be under the age of 18 at the time of execution. The youngest person to be executed in the 20th century was George Stinney, electrocuted in South Carolina at the age of fourteen on June 16, 1944. The youngest person ever to be sentenced to death in the United States was James Arcene, a Native American, for his role in a robbery and murder committed when he was ten years old. He was, however, 23-years-old when he was actually executed on June 18, 1885.[1] The last execution of a juvenile may have been convicted murderer Leonard Shockley, who died in the Maryland gas chamber on April 10, 1959, at the age of 17. No one has been under the age of 19 at the time of execution since at least 1964.[2][3]

After the Supreme Court's 2005 decision in Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), the minimum age at time of crime to be subject to the death penalty is 18, thereby ending execution as a punishment for juvenile offenders. At the time of the Roper v. Simmons decision, there were 71 juvenile offenders awaiting execution on death row: 13 in Alabama; four in Arizona; three in Florida; two in Georgia; four in Louisiana; five in Mississippi; one in Nevada; four in North Carolina; two in Pennsylvania; three in South Carolina; 29 in Texas; and one in Virginia. Detailed summaries of each of these offenders can be found here.

List of juvenile offenders executed in the United States since 1976

Number Date Name Age at execution Age at offense Race Gender State Method Source
1 01985-09-11September 11, 1985 Rumbaugh, Charles FrancisCharles Francis Rumbaugh 28 17 White Male Texas Lethal injection [4]
2 01986-01-10January 10, 1986 Roach, James TerryJames Terry Roach 25 17 White Male South Carolina Electrocution [5]
3 01986-05-15May 15, 1986 Pinkerton, Jay KellyJay Kelly Pinkerton 24 17 White Male Texas Lethal injection [6]
4 01990-05-18May 18, 1990 Prejean, DaltonDalton Prejean 30 17 Black Male Louisiana Electrocution [7]
5 01992-02-11February 11, 1992 Garrett, Johnny FrankJohnny Frank Garrett 28 17 White Male Texas Lethal injection [8]
6 01993-07-01July 1, 1993 Harris, Curtis PaulCurtis Paul Harris 31 17 Black Male Texas Lethal injection [9]
7 01993-07-28July 28, 1993 Lasley, FrederickFrederick Lasley 29 17 Black Male Missouri Lethal injection [10]
8 01993-08-24August 24, 1993 Cantu, Ruben MontoyaRuben Montoya Cantu 26 17 Latino Male Texas Lethal injection [11]
9 01993-12-07December 7, 1993 Burger, ChristopherChristopher Burger 33 17 White Male Georgia Electrocution [12]
10 01998-04-24April 24, 1998 Cannon, Joseph JohnJoseph John Cannon 38 17 White Male Texas Lethal injection [13]
11 01998-05-18May 18, 1998 Carter, Robert AnthonyRobert Anthony Carter 34 17 Black Male Texas Lethal injection [14]
12 01998-10-14October 14, 1998 Wright, Dwayne AllenDwayne Allen Wright 24 17 Black Male Virginia Lethal injection [15]
13 01999-02-04February 4, 1999 Sellers, Sean RichardSean Richard Sellers 29 16 White Male Oklahoma Lethal injection [16]
14 02000-01-10January 10, 2000 Thomas, Douglas ChristopherDouglas Christopher Thomas 26 17 White Male Virginia Lethal injection [17]
15 02000-01-13January 13, 2000 Roach, Steve EdwardSteve Edward Roach 23 17 White Male Virginia Lethal injection [18]
16 02000-01-25January 25, 2000 McGinnis, Glen CharlesGlen Charles McGinnis 27 17 Black Male Texas Lethal injection [19]
17 02000-06-22June 22, 2000 Graham, Gary LeeGary Lee Graham 36 17 Black Male Texas Lethal injection [20]
18 02001-10-22October 22, 2001 Mitchell, Gerald LeeGerald Lee Mitchell 33 17 Black Male Texas Lethal injection [21]
19 02002-05-28May 28, 2002 Beazley, NapoleonNapoleon Beazley 25 17 Black Male Texas Lethal injection [22]
20 02002-08-08August 8, 2002 Jones, T. J.T. J. Jones 25 17 Black Male Texas Lethal injection [23]
21 02002-08-28August 28, 2002 Patterson, Toronto MarkkeyToronto Markkey Patterson 24 17 Black Male Texas Lethal injection [24]
22 02003-04-03April 3, 2003 Hain, Scott AllenScott Allen Hain 32 17 White Male Oklahoma Lethal injection [25]

See also

References

  1. ^ Before the needles
  2. ^ Best Web
  3. ^ Juvenile News and Developments - Previous Years
  4. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #048 - Charles Rumbaugh
  5. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #051 - James Terry Roach
  6. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #057 - Jay Pinkerton
  7. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #128 - Dalton Prejean
  8. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #161 - Johnny Garrett
  9. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #207 - Curtis Harris
  10. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #209 - Frederick Lasley
  11. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #214 - Ruben Cantu
  12. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #224 - Christopher Burger
  13. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #455 - Joseph Cannon
  14. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #460 - Robert A. Carter
  15. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #485 - Dwayne Allen Wright
  16. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #512 - Sean Richard Sellers
  17. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #601 - Douglas Christopher Thomas
  18. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #604 - Steve Edward Roach
  19. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #609 - Glen Charles McGinnis
  20. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #648 - Gary Lee Graham
  21. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #737 - Gerald Lee Mitchell
  22. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #779 - Napoleon Beazley
  23. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #789 - T. J. Jones
  24. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #795 - Toronto Markkey Patterson
  25. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney - The Death Penalty - #843 - Scott Allen Hain