P R E S S   R E L E A S E
from
F L O R I D I A N S   FOR   A L T E R N A T I V E S
                                   TO THE DEATH PENALTY   (FADP)

04 March 2004

CONTACT: Abe Bonowitz:  561-371-5204
<abe@fadp.org>


IS FLORIDA NEXT?

TWO STATES ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY FOR JUVENILES

March 4, 2004 -  As Florida's legislative session gets under way this week,
two more states abolished the juvenile death penalty, bringing to 31 the
number of states that do not execute youthful offenders for crimes
committed at the age of 16 or 17.

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds and Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal each signed
their state's legislation on Wednesday, while a similar bill is advancing
in New Hampshire.  A bill to raise the minimum age for death penalty
eligibility in Florida to 18 is expected to be considered once again in the
Florida legislature this year, having died in committee in each of the past
several years.

"When the U.S. Supreme Court banned the execution of people with mental
retardation, 30 states had already outlawed that practice, including
Florida," said Abe Bonowitz, director of Floridians for Alternatives to the
Death Penalty. "Now 31 states outlaw the juvenile death penalty. FADP
members are calling on their legislators to follow this trend by sweeping
the juvenile death penalty away to the dustbin of history, where it
belongs.  Of course, it would be prudent to abolish the death penalty in
all cases, and this legislation is an important step in the right direction."

In its next term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether
executing people for crimes committed before the age of 18 violates the 8th
Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.  Despite the recent
developments, Texas has scheduled the execution of five youthful offenders,
four of whom are Latino and one of whom is African American. The past six
youthful offenders executed by the state of Texas all have been African
American. (Two of the Texas youthful offenders scheduled for execution,
Edward Capetillo and Anzel Jones, have been granted stays.)

According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Florida currently has
two juvenile offenders on death row.

On the Web:  www.FADP.org

****

SENT BY:

Abraham J. Bonowitz
Director

         Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP)

         800-973-6548    http://www.fadp.org   <fadp@fadp.org>
         PMB 335,  2603 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hwy, Gainesville, FL  32609

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty works for restorative
justice in the form of effective alternatives to the death penalty.  It
does so by
   # supporting and coordinating the work of organizations and individuals
   # educating and energizing the general public and state legislators
   # supporting the many persons affected by capital crime and punishment
   # advocating specific legislative improvements