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Article
Amici Curiae Urge The U.S. Supreme Court to Consider International Human Rights Law in Juvenile Death Penalty Case
Santa Clara Law Review (2002)
  • Connie de la Vega
Abstract
This article is an adaptation of an amici curiae brief filed in support of the petition for writ of certiorari in Beazley v. Johnson, 242 F.3d 248 (5th Cir. 2001), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 945 (2001), application of stay of execution denied, 533 U.S. 969 (2001). It asserts that the prohibition against the execution of persons who were under eighteen years of age at the commission of the crime is not only customary international law, it has attained the status of a jus cogens peremptory norm of international law which must be taken into account by the court. It also argues that the Court should reconsider the execution of juvenile offenders because otherwise the United States will continue to bring itself under increasing international scrutiny, tainting its image as a leader in the protection of human rights.
Keywords
  • International law,
  • juvenile death penalty,
  • international human rights,
  • Beazley v. Johnson,
  • jus cogens,
  • capital punishment
Publication Date
2002
Citation Information
Connie de la Vega. "Amici Curiae Urge The U.S. Supreme Court to Consider International Human Rights Law in Juvenile Death Penalty Case" Santa Clara Law Review Vol. 42 (2002)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/connie_de_la_vega/7/