FREE Should Juveniles Be Subject To The Death Penalty? Essay (original) (raw)

Should Juveniles Be Subject to the Death Penalty?.

Juvenile crime rates are at worrisome high in the world today. The youth are an obvious example of the moral decay eating away at our civilized societies. In 1899 the problem was addressed by the formation of the juvenile justice system in an effort to more successfully rehabilitate juvenile delinquents to become contributing members of society. But does the label, "delinquent" apply to a juvenile murderer, or is a more fitting term criminal? At an adolescent age, does a juvenile understand the difference between life and death? Does he or she understand the irreversibility of their actions? And at what age should a juvenile be tried as an adult to face adult penalties for their actions? Should a juvenile be subject to the death penalty? After careful consideration and research, my answer is no, they should not be subject to capital punishment.
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. While these arguments have merit, I have found sufficient evidence to lead me to the following conclusion, that the capital punishment laws should be changed to exclude minors, in all states.
The death penalty is the wrong punishment for minors for these reasons: (1) given the fact that the death penalty is in place to serve as a deterrent, there is not sufficient evidence to prove that the death penalty deters crime, (2) there is more of a possibility for rehabilitation when dealing with a minor compared to an adult, and (3) the cost of execution to taxpayers far outweighs the cost of life imprisonment.
In order to deter somebody from his or her desired actions, a deterrent must make an example out of one to persuade another.

1. Death Penalty For Juveniles

In order to fully evaluate this sensitive topic I have presented a mixture of opposing perceptions related to the question should juveniles receive the death penalty for capital offenses? ... 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 juvenile death penalty has been subject to national debate and Cothern describes the history of the death penalty that has authorized 20,000 executions over the last 350 years including 361 juveniles beginning in 1642. ... The main idea that Friedman pr...

2. Juveniles and the Death Penalty

With this change, more youth capital offenders are subject to death penalty sentencing. ... 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. ... - The death sentence must be subject to review by the highest State court of appeals to ensure that the penalty is in proportion to the gravity...

3. Death Penalty

Capital Punishment - Death Penalty INTRODUCTION It is true that the punishment of the crimes committed everyday should fit the crime, but to what extent? ... JUVENILES Pro's Those who feel it is right to kill juveniles by the death penalty agree that murder is a serious offense at any age. ... Minors, who commit severe crimes because they do not understand the value of life, should be subjected to the same punishment that adults are. ... Con's There is one simple reason why juveniles should not be tried as adults, they are not adults. ... Some people feel that the pun...

4. Should Juveniles be Tried As Adults? (yes)

Many juveniles under the age of eighteen have been given life in prison or even the death penalty, but when is the juvenile too young to be given a large sentence? ... So if somebody commits one of these crimes, they should be held legally responsible, juvenile or adult. However, if a juvenile is given a sentence as an adult, they should serve the remainder of their juvenile life in a juvenile detention facility before being transferred to an adult prison. ... If the purpose of the juvenile court is to provide a separate system for punishment and rehabilitation, then the adult prison should ...

5. Juvenile Punishment

Juvenile offenders should not be tried as adults under the adult justice system. ... Juvenile homicide has increased a great deal since 1984 through 1993. ... "As supported by recent research, this argument applies equally to offenders under eighteen years of age" (Cruel and Unusual Punishment: The Juvenile Death Penalty 1). ... " scientists have discovered that adolescent brains are far less developed than previously believed" (Cruel and Unusual Punishment: The Juvenile Death Penalty 1). ""part of the brain that is helping organization, planning and strategizing is no done being built...

6. Minors Should Never Be Tried As Adults

Minors as young as 13 were occasionally sentenced to death, and some were executed. Discomfort with the death penalty and with imprisoning children with adults led to the creation of a separate court for minor hearings acting as the parent or guardian of young offenders. ... The answer is simple; we should not. ... It would also designate certain crimes as being violent and serious, thereby making offenders subject to longer sentences. ... The topic of juvenile justice and sentencing minors with adult penalties is a heated debate. ...

7. The Death Penalty Controversy

Abstract "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights", issued by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, states in part that "no one shall be subject to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment." ... The death penalty debate has long been part of our nation's history. ... The death penalty remains a controversial issue and there are people who stand on both sides on the issue regarding the death penalty. ... Simmons struck down the death penalty for juveniles. 22 defendants had been executed for crimes committed as juveniles since 1976. ... (Ted Gottfried 2002) Most America...

8. Is Executing a Juvenile Offender Necessary?

Today, there are 83 juvenile offenders, people who have committed crimes when they were of 17 years of age of younger, on death row (Death Penalty Information Center). ... Executing juvenile offenders, or even sentencing them to death is absolutely wrong and immoral. ... Fifteen states have a minimum age of 18 for capital punishment (Death Penalty Information Center). ... (Ewing 153) Even though Justice O"Connor's vote got William Thompson off of death row, there was still much controversy regarding the age at which the death penalty is applicable. ... Both sentencing to death and e...

9. Capital Punishment

First we will briefly look at the history of both juvenile justice and the history of the death penalty in regards to juveniles. ... We will then spend a short time looking at some views on the juvenile death penalty, reasons for the death penalty itself, and the arguments for and against the death penalty for juveniles. ... The history of the death penalty being imposed on juveniles spans all the way back to almost the beginning of our country. ... Next we will discuss the two pivotal court cases that set the precedent for our current juvenile death penalty statutes. ... These were the only c...

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