Scott Hain
Encyclopedia
Scott Allen Hain was the last person executed
in the United States
for crimes committed by the offender as a minor. Hain was put to death by Oklahoma
for a double murder–kidnapping he committed when he was 17 years old.
. As a teenager, he accumulated juvenile convictions for trespassing, theft, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
On 6 October 1987, Hain and Robert Lambert carjacked an automobile in Tulsa that was occupied by Michael Houghton and Laura Sanders. Hain and Lambert eventually stopped the car, robbed Houghton and Sanders, and placed them in the trunk of the car. Hain set fire to the car, which resulted in Houghton and Sanders's deaths. Hain was 17 years old at the time of the murders.
and sentenced to death by lethal injection
. In 1994, an appeals court determined that because the jury had not been told of the possibility of a life sentence without any chance of parole
, Hain was entitled to a new sentencing hearing. At the re-sentencing hearing, the new jury again sentenced Hain to death for the murders. All of Hain's subsequent appeals were eventually dismissed, and in February 2002 the United States Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal, which was based on arguments of the unconstitutionality of executing juvenile offenders.
In February 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a stay of execution that had been put in place by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Hain was executed by lethal injection at the age of 32. He was the 60th person executed by Oklahoma since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated by the United States Supreme Court.
that the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
was violated when offenders were executed for crimes committed prior to the age of 18. If Roper v. Simmons had been decided prior to Hain's execution, Hain could not have been legally executed.
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for crimes committed by the offender as a minor. Hain was put to death by Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
for a double murder–kidnapping he committed when he was 17 years old.
Crime
Hain was born in Tulsa, OklahomaOklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. As a teenager, he accumulated juvenile convictions for trespassing, theft, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
On 6 October 1987, Hain and Robert Lambert carjacked an automobile in Tulsa that was occupied by Michael Houghton and Laura Sanders. Hain and Lambert eventually stopped the car, robbed Houghton and Sanders, and placed them in the trunk of the car. Hain set fire to the car, which resulted in Houghton and Sanders's deaths. Hain was 17 years old at the time of the murders.
Court proceedings and executions
Hain and Lambert were arrested on 9 October 1987. At trial in 1988, they were both convicted of capital felony murderFelony murder
The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder in two ways. First, when an offender kills accidentally or without specific intent to kill in the course of an applicable felony, what might have been manslaughter is escalated to murder...
and sentenced to death by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
. In 1994, an appeals court determined that because the jury had not been told of the possibility of a life sentence without any chance of parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
, Hain was entitled to a new sentencing hearing. At the re-sentencing hearing, the new jury again sentenced Hain to death for the murders. All of Hain's subsequent appeals were eventually dismissed, and in February 2002 the United States Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal, which was based on arguments of the unconstitutionality of executing juvenile offenders.
In February 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a stay of execution that had been put in place by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Hain was executed by lethal injection at the age of 32. He was the 60th person executed by Oklahoma since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated by the United States Supreme Court.
End of juvenile offender executions in the United States
In March 2005, less than two years after Hain's execution, the United States Supreme Court held in the 5–4 decision of Roper v. SimmonsRoper v. Simmons
Roper v. Simmons, was a decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that it is unconstitutional to impose capital punishment for crimes committed while under the age of 18. The 5-4 decision overruled the Court's prior ruling upholding such sentences on offenders above or at the...
that the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual...
was violated when offenders were executed for crimes committed prior to the age of 18. If Roper v. Simmons had been decided prior to Hain's execution, Hain could not have been legally executed.