Today in Labor History March 1, 2005: The Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute juveniles convicted of murder. Americans executed their first juvenile in 1642. Between 1642 and 2005, they executed 342 people who were juveniles at the time their offense occurred. Between 1976 and 2005, the U.S. executed 22 juvenile offenders. All but one of these occurred in the South and more than half of them in Texas, alone. Overall, 50% of all youth executed in the U.S. were African American. At the time of the SCOTUS decision ending juvenile executions, there were 71 people on Death Row for crimes they were accused of committing as minors. Several people have been executed for crimes they were accused of committing when they were 14. And James Arcene, a Native American, was executed for a crime he was accused of committing at the age of 11.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #deathpenalty #capitalpunishment #cruelandunusual #juveniles #children #SCOTUS #prison







