Governor signs bill to bar execution of juveniles in S.D.

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By Associated Press

Published: 03/08/2004

South Dakota has become the latest state to eliminate the death penalty for juveniles.
Gov. Mike Rounds has signed into law a bill that will eliminate the death penalty for those who are 16- and 17-years old at the time their crimes are committed.
"It was extremely timely for South Dakota to pass this law," said Sen. Patti de Hueck, R-Pierre, the main sponsor of SB182.
The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing a case in which the Missouri Supreme Court struck down a juvenile's death sentence on the basis that executing him would be unconstitutional, de Hueck said. The Missouri court found that execution of juveniles would be cruel and unusual punishment.
The nation's highest court ruled in 1988 that no one younger than 16 can be executed, so the South Dakota law banning execution of juveniles applies to 16- and 17-year-old convicts.
Of 38 states that allow capital punishment, South Dakota and Wyoming joined 17 others that do not allow the death penalty for 16- and 17-year-olds. Laws barring the execution of juveniles were signed in both states Wednesday.
The American Bar Association reports that 72 juveniles have been sentenced to death in the United States since 1975, and 22 of those juveniles have been executed.
Only 14 people have ever been legally executed in South Dakota's history, including four who were put to death before South Dakota was granted statehood. South Dakota has not executed anyone since 1947, and the state has never imposed the death penalty on a juvenile.
However, South Dakota has four men on death row who are in various stages of the appeals process.
Medical evidence shows juveniles are not as capable mentally as adults, de Hueck said.
De Hueck noted that research has demonstrated that human brains are often not fully developed until people are in their 20s, but the law has to set some age limit for executions.
Many juveniles also will likely be affected by SB211, which was signed into law by the governor.
The bill requires the creation of a special commission that will study whether South.

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