Can a United States Treaty Reservation Provide a Sanctuary for the Juvenile Death Penalty?

This article examines the United States' use of the death penalty for juvenile offenders in the context of international human rights. It provides an overview of the development and status of United States law regarding the juvenile death penalty, and it briefly reviews the traditional arguments against the United States death penalty in general, with an emphasis on the application of these arguments to the juvenile death penalty in particular. It then reviews a number of international agreements dealing with the juvenile death penalty, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (quot;ICCPRquot;), and it explores the validity of the United States reservation to the ICCPR's prohibition of the juvenile death penalty in relation to international treaties, customary international law and the doctrine of jus cogens. Finally, it reviews international scrutiny of the United States juvenile death penalty laws, and concludes that it will mount until the United States conforms to international norms on this issue