Death_Penalty_2005_nowy.qxd 2005-09-08 17:00 Page 37 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA in violation of a principle of jus cogens in its pursuit of the death penalty against individuals who were under the age of 18 at the time of the crime.118 On 1 March 2005, the US Supreme Court took a decision to abolish the death penalty for defendants who were under the age of 18 when they committed their crimes.119 In Roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court held that the execution of minors constitutes cruel and unusual punishment within the meaning of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. The court found that a national consensus had emerged that such executions are a disproportionate punishment for juveniles, whom society views as categorically less culpable than adult criminals. As of 1 July 2005, there were 33 death-row inmates (all male) who had been sentenced as juveniles (under 18 at the time of the crime).120 Individuals suffering from any form of mental disorder The US Supreme Court has ruled that the execution of an insane person – somebody who is not aware of the impending execution or the reasons therefor – violates the US Constitution.121 Furthermore, the US Supreme Court has also ruled that the execution of a mentally retarded person violates the US Constitution.122 The American Association of Mental Retardation defines mental retardation as substantial intellectual impairment appearing at birth or during childhood that impacts on the everyday life of the individual, although definitions of mental retardation differ from state to state. However, there is no constitutional bar against the execution of individuals who are mentally ill but are not classified as “insane”. On 2 July 2004, Indiana Governor Joseph Kernan commuted Darnell Williams’ death sentence for murder to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Williams had been due to be executed on 9 July 2004 for a double murder committed in 1986. Borderline mental retardation was named as one of the reasons behind this commutation decision.123 On 16 March 2005, Stanley Hall was executed in Missouri. His lawyers had appealed for clemency on a number of grounds, including on the claim that Hall 118 119 120 121 122 123 Inter-American Commission Report No. 101/03, Case 12.412, Napoleon Beazley United States, 29 December 2003, and Inter-American Commission Report No. 62/02, Case 12.285, Michael Domingues United States, 22 October 2002. Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. (2005). Op. cit., Note 115. Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399 (1986). Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. (2002). Death Penalty News, Amnesty International, December 2004. 37