In the United States, a ''seven-deadly-sins law for juvenile offenders'' is a

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

intended to address the increasing rates of

violent crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, violent act is t ...

among youth.Banks 2007, Abstract. The law has taken many forms in different state legislatures in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. However, the "

seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...

" aspect always refers to the jurisdiction of the superior court over the trial of any juvenile 13–17 years old who allegedly committed

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

with firearm, aggravated

child molestation Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (wheth ...

, aggravated

sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...

, aggravated

sexual battery Battery is a criminal Offence (law), offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the act of creating apprehension of such contact. Battery is a specific common law offense, although the term is used more general ...

, or voluntary

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

.Overview SB 440, 2013.Armstrong, 2008. In the mid 1990s, numerous US states enacted seven-deadly-sins laws to combat so-called teen "superpredators," a predicted wave of remorseless teenaged criminals. However, this prediction did not come to fruition.

By state

Georgia

Among the states in the US to pass such a bill was Georgia, whose State Bill 440 attempted "to provide that certain juvenile offenders who commit certain violent felonies shall be tried as adults in the superior court." In April 1994, the law was passed in the US state of Georgia.Georgia Senate, 1994. State Bill 440 attempted "to provide that certain juvenile offenders who commit certain violent felonies shall be tried as adults in the superior court." This meant that murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, aggravated sexual battery, aggravated sodomy and aggravated child molestation carried a minimum of 10 years in prison, with the latter four crimes carrying a minimum of 25 years to life in prison. First-degree murder is punishable by death, life in prison without parole or life in prison with no parole for at least 30 years, while second-degree murder carries a sentence of imprisonment for not less than 10 years and up to 30 years. Anyone convicted a second time of any of these crimes will automatically be sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

without the possibility of parole. The law was approved by voters on November 8, 1994 and was signed into law by then Governor

Zell Miller Zell Bryan Miller (February 24, 1932 – March 23, 2018) was an American author and politician from the state of Georgia. A Democrat, Miller served as lieutenant governor from 1975 to 1991, 79th Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, and as U.S ...

on December 15, 1994 and went into effect on January 1, 1995. The law is codified and found under Title 17, Chapter 10, Section 7 (OCGA Section 17-10-7) of the

Official Code of Georgia Annotated The Official Code of Georgia Annotated or OCGA is the compendium of all laws in the U.S. state of Georgia. Like other U.S. state codes, its legal interpretation is subject to the United States Constitution, the United States Code, the Code o ...

. In 2009, a bill softened the effects of that law, regressing from the default to try violent minor offenders as adults.

References

Citations

Works cited

* * * *

By state

Georgia

See also

References

Citations

Works cited

Further reading