THE JUVENILE DEATH-PENALTY AND THE 8TH-AMENDMENT - AN EMPIRICAL-INVESTIGATION OF SOCIETAL CONSENSUS AND PROPORTIONALITY

The present study investigated the Eighth Amendment tests of societal consensus and proportionality as applied to juvenile death penalties. A sample of former jurors (N = 179) voted on whether to execute the de fendant in a hypothetical case. Defendant's age (10, 15, 16, or 19) an d level of remorse were varied. A large percentage of participants vot ed to execute the defendant in each condition, but the defendant's age and the participant's attitude toward juvenile culpability significan tly predicted the likelihood of execution. Implications for the consti tutionality of the juvenile death penalty and future research directio ns are discussed.