Rule of Law

The amid curiae brief is a forceful statement of why the death penalty should not be imposed on persons who commit crimes as juveniles. ASAP has reaffirmed its stand in an updated position statement, which also appears in this section. Questioning of capital punishment appears to be increasing among the general public and other professional organizations. In 2000, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry issued a position paper condemning the death penalty for adolescents and the American Psychiatric Association followed suit in 2001. ASAP will continue to campaign that the death penalty for juveniles violates "the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society" (findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3882/is.../ai_n9032640)