The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area International Safeguards Minors At the federal level, individuals who were below the age of 18 at the time of the crime cannot be sentenced to death. On 1 March 2005, in Roper v. Simmons, the United States Supreme Court decided to abolish the death penalty for defendants who were under the age of 18 when they committed their crimes.58 In its concluding observations in response to the reports submitted by the United States on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, the Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed the application of the Roper v. Simmons case to the military-justice system.59 Individuals suffering from any form of mental disorder The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the execution of an insane person – somebody who is not aware of the impending execution or the reasons for it – violates the US Constitution.60 Furthermore, the Supreme Court has also ruled that the execution of a mentally retarded person violates the Constitution.61 In June 2007, the United States Supreme Court blocked the execution of an inmate because it was found that the Court of Appeal decision was too restrictive in its interpretation of what constitutes “insanity” as it was established in an earlier case, Ford v. Wainwright.62 In March 2008, a federal court found the inmate competent to be executed despite his mental illness.63 Fair-trial guarantees By statute, Congress provides for the appointment of highly qualified counsel to represent federal capital defendants at all stages of a capital prosecution, from indictment through post-conviction review. In addition, the federal government provides counsel for state capital defendants when their convictions are reviewed 58  See Roper v. Simmons, United States Supreme Court, 1 March 2005. 59  “Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: United States”, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/USA/CO/1, 6 June 2008, para 4(b). 60  See Ford v. Wainwright, United States Supreme Court, 26 June 1986. 61  See Atkins v. Virginia, United States Supreme Court, 20 June 2002. 62  See Panetti v. Quarterman, United States Supreme Court, 28 June 2007. 63  See Panetti v. Quarterman, United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, 26 March 2008. 11