FREE Juveniles & The Death Penalty Essay (original) (raw)

In our search for equality and fairness we have grossly overlooked and underestimated the consequences of the decisions we have made. Our country is one that prides itself on being a society based upon democracy and freedom. We lend our support overseas to those who long for basic human rights, while we deny those same rights to individuals here at home. But how can we impose economic sanctions against human rights violators abroad when we are violating international law and the human rights of children here at home? It is here that our hypocrisy becomes painfully apparent.
The passage of Proposition 21 has changed California's juvenile justice system. The number of offenses for which 14 and 15 year olds can be tried as adults has increased; it requires that youth offenders 16 years of age and older that are convicted in adult court be sent directly to the Department of Corrections without first having been under the jurisdiction of the Youth Authority. Ethics of care allows me to have at least a little compassion for the juvenile facing time in adult prison, and let me tell you why. Incarcerating children with adults can have devastating results. According to the US Department of Justice, children incarcerated with adults are 8 times more likely to commit suicide; 5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted by an adult inmate; and 50 times more likely to be attacked with a weapon. .
At first glance it may seem acceptable to subject a child to such an environment, especially the child perpetrator of a heinous crime. I am not without sympathy for those who have suffered at the hands of any offender(s). On the contrary, ethics of relativism allows me to view this issue on a case-by-case basis. I just believe that it is a big mistake to pass judgment strictly based on emotion and not logic or intellect. We cannot afford to justify such cruelty to children using an absolutist approach.

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1. Death Penalty For Juveniles

Annotated Bibliography The Death Penalty for Juveniles The following research draws upon different opinions and perceptions for and against the further enactment of the death penalty for juvenile offenders. ... Secondly, why does the death penalty for juveniles remain? How often is the death penalty given to juveniles and what if any are the profiles of juveniles on death row? ... Juveniles and the Death Penalty. ... The Death Penalty for Juveniles: An Assessment of Public Support. ...

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3. Juveniles and the Death Penalty

In the seventeen years from when the death penalty was reinstated, 17 men were executed for crimes that they committed as juveniles. ... Debate about the use of the death penalty for juveniles has grown more intense because of the demand for harsher punishment for serious and violent juvenile offenders and challenges to the death penalty's legality. ... In this paper I will discuss the evolution of the death penalty and its application to juvenile offenders, justifications for sentencing juveniles to death row, and why proponents feel that there are other alternatives. ... Without ruling...

4. Should Juveniles Be Subject To The Death Penalty?

Should Juveniles Be Subject to the Death Penalty? ... Should a juvenile be subject to the death penalty? ... Retentionists seek to hold the current death penalty laws unchanged for these reasons: (1) the death penalty is a deterrent for criminal behavior, (2) a murderer is not capable or deserving of rehabilitation, regardless of age, and (3) the cost of keeping a juvenile incarcerated for a life time would be too high. ... A proponent of the death penalty would argue exactly this point. ... The average murder rates among death penalty states were 8.0, and the average among non-death p...

5. Death Penalty

Issue: The goal of this paper is to show the pros and cons and give information on the juvenile death penalty. ... Although there are those who have good arguments for the juvenile death penalty, which will be presented later on in my paper, I think that it's a shameful practice. ... The Federal Government has imposed the death penalty against American Indian children for crimes they committed as young as ten years old (The National coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty). ... There are many arguments that support the use of the death penalty for juveniles. ... In modern day only...

6. Juveniles and the Death Penalty

Juveniles are highly incapable of making reasoning and lifelong decisions. ... Sentencing teens to the death penalty is cruel and unreasonable; therefore, juveniles should not be sentenced to the death penalty. ... Murderers do not expect to be caught or to be sentenced to death, so the threat of the death penalty has no effect on them. ... "Ten of the 12 states without capital punishment have homicide rates below the national average," the Times said, "while half the states with the death penalty have homicide rates above the national average." In a state-by- state analys...

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8. California and the Juvenile Crime Initiative

Proposition 21 allows courts to try juveniles as young as fourteen in adult court, imposes stiffer penalties for gang related offenses, and increases penalties for serious crimes (Text of Proposition 21, 2000). ... Juveniles commit many of these homicides. ... Confidentiality/Juvenile Records Prior to the passage of proposition 21, juveniles tried in the juvenile court were afforded the benefit of confidentiality. ... -Gang Shooting from Vehicle causing GBI/Death. ... New Death Penalty Special Circumstance Proposition 21 has enacted the following as part of California's death penalty st...

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