In March, 2005, in a seminal 5-to-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down capital punishment for those who committed crimes while under the age of majority. For 11 years prior to this decision, CJJ formally opposed the use of the death penalty for any and all individuals whose offenses were committed before the age of 18 years. In 2004, CJJ filed a brief as amicus curiae before the U.S. Supreme Court to support the abolition of the death penalty in Roper v. Simmons, with counsel from Joseph D. Tydings, Miriam R. Vishio and Erin L. Webb of Dickstein Shapiro Morin and Oshinsky LLP of Washington, DC.
Click [1] here to view a PDF version of CJJ’s amicus brief.
[2] See all positions.
[1]: http://juvjustice.org/media/fckeditor/CJJ Amicus Brief(2).pdf
[2]: http://juvjustice.org/positions.html