PHR Library

October 8, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

US Surgeons General, Hundreds of Leading Child Health Professionals, Neuroscientists and Key Medical Organizations Call to End Execution of Juvenile Offenders

US Supreme Court Oral Argument in Roper v Simmons

In an unprecedented consensus, 400 medical and adolescent development experts, including former US Surgeons General C. Everett Koop, David Satcher and Julius Richmond, have endorsed The Health Professionals' Call to Abolish the Execution of Juvenile Offenders in the United States ("Call to Abolish"). On Wednesday, October 13, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Roper v. Simmons, a case that will review the constitutionality of the death penalty for youths under eighteen at the time of the crime. The Call to Abolish, organized by Physicians for Human Rights, reflects the widespread scientific consensus that minors "do not yet possess the maturity and mental capacities required to justify the imposition of the ultimate adult punishment."

"Recent advances in science show us that the brains of children operate differently than those of adults. Juveniles are underdeveloped and immature, particularly in the areas of the brain that dictate reason, impulse control and decision-making," said C. Everett Koop, Surgeon General during the Reagan administration.

Adolescent behavior is dominated by the region of the brain associated with impulse and aggression. Modern neurological research, recently publicized by the National Institute of Mental Health, strongly suggests that the part of the brain that controls such behavior, and which also permits anticipation of consequences, consideration of alternatives, planning and organization of sequential behavior, does not fully mature until at least the age of eighteen. The research has led experts in adolescent development to conclude that it is unreasonable to impose expectations of adult-level capacities on the thinking and behavior of minors.

Moreover, adolescents most likely to be subject to the death penalty have been subject to abuse. David Satcher, Surgeon General during the first term of the Clinton administration, said, "Our country's practice of executing its youth is one that is unacceptable and should end as soon as possible. Not only must we acknowledge the relative immaturity and underdevelopment of our youth, but we must also acknowledge our society's responsibility for many of their behaviors. In the Surgeon General's report on treating children with mental disorders, we pointed out that more than two-thirds of the children who ended up in the juvenile justice system would not be there if they had received the appropriate mental health interventions that they needed to develop normally. It is our responsibility to see that each child has an optimal chance for a healthy start in life."

Endorsers of the Call to Abolish include leaders in pediatrics, including four winners of the American Academy of Pediatrics C. Anderson Aldrich Award in Child Development: Dr. Leon Eisenberg, Dr. Karen Olness, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton and Dr. Richmond; human brain development including: Dr. Judith Rapoport of George Washington University, Dr. Charles Nelson of the University of Minnesota, and Dr. Bruce McEwen of the Rockefeller University and Past President of the Society for Neuroscience; and child and adolescent psychiatry including Dr. Marilyn B. Benoit, immediate Past President of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Organizations that have endorsed the Call to Abolish include: the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry, the International Pediatric Association and various state chapters of these national associations. Other medical organizations that have lodged support for ending the juvenile death penalty include the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the National Mental Health Association, the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, the Society for Adolescent Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

In their individual capacities, current and past leaders of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, the Society for Adolescent Medicine, the Society for Neuroscience and chairs and chiefs of pediatrics, neurology and psychiatry from dozens of leading medical schools across the nation have also added their names to the Call to Abolish. Their support demonstrates an unparalleled consensus within the medical community that the death penalty for juveniles is fundamentally unjust.

These health professionals and organizations do not seek to minimize or excuse the offense of murder, and its impact on the victims' families, nor say that juvenile offenders do not know right from wrong and should not be punished. They hold that juveniles are less culpable than adults and should not be subject to the ultimate level of punishment.

The Health Professionals' Call to Abolish also states that childhood abuse, neglect and mental impairment can further diminish adolescents' lesser cognitive and emotional capacities. These kinds of disturbances inhibit natural growth and development and profoundly exacerbate the existing vulnerabilities of youth.

"The limited brain capabilities of children confirm what behavioral science has already shown: that kids are different and that they should not be held to the same standard as adults. That is why I have joined hundreds of doctors and the country's leading medical organizations in opposing the juvenile death penalty," said Koop.  

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) mobilizes the health professions to advance the health and dignity of all people by protecting human rights. As a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, PHR shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.