ABSTRACT
The American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry reiterates its stand against the death penalty for individuals who commit capital crimes before they reach the age of 18. This position was first stated in our amici curiae brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Thompson v. Oklahoma in 1987 and was restated in similar briefs in the cases of Wilkins v. Missouri in 1988 and Stanford v. Kentucky in 1989. The Society calls on the governors and legislatures of the 23 states that permit imposition of this penalty to alter their statutes to conform to the other 27 states and nearly all the other countries of the world.
