Juveniles Too Young To Die Essay Research

Juveniles: Too Young To Die. Essay, Research Paper

Juveniles: Too Young To Die.

By Aaron Dechant

English Comp. I A

Mr. Keller

In 1643 a sixteen year old boy was put to death for sodomizing a cow.

Three hundred and fifty years later, sixteen states have legitimized the

execution of juveniles. Four of those twelve states have lowered the legal age

of execution to twelve. For whatever reasons the death penalty has been

supported by the public since this country’s existence. In this day and age of

increasing violence, both juvenile and adult, it is time to re-examine the use

of the death penalty as the ultimate solution to crime. The social repercussions

of enforcing the state executions of juveniles far outweigh any of the benefits

that may be gained.

The cry for the death penalty is most loudly heard when referring to it

as use of a deterrent. According to Allen Kale “it is estimated that about 76%

of the American public support the use of the death penalty as a deterrent,

however that support drops to less than 9% when referring specifically to

juveniles.” (Kale 1) The mindset of the American public seems to be drastically

different when dealing juveniles. And yet, with only 9% of the public supporting

the policy, it remains in effect.

Another strong outcry for the death penalty comes from those wanting

restitution for the death of a loved one. It is the thought that a life is the

ultimate price to pay which fuels this argument. The delineation between adults

and juveniles is much less clear on this point. Age doesn’t seem to make much of

a difference when dealing with restitution. Putting an individual to death seems

to put the minds of certain individuals at ease. This argument is what makes

that 9% seem to be the vast majority.

The distinction between juveniles and adults is a very important one.

It is often a deciding factor when one is choosing to support the death penalty

or not. Although the difference often consists of just a few short years, it is

those years which make all the difference. Often its deterrent effect and costs

are greatly affected by age and maturity. In fact, most theories and reasons for

supporting the death penalty are flawed when applying them to juveniles.

The debate over whether or not the death penalty is an effective

deterrent is likely to continue as long as it is in place. However, its

deterrent effect towards juveniles is more obvious. There are several reasons

why the death penalty does not deter children. The death penalty has a very

unique effect on juveniles. It has now become an ineffective means of deterring

crime while in some cases actually acting as an incentive for crime.

The first reason the death penalty is an ineffective tool for law

enforcement has to do with the hypocrisy surrounding the policy. Because the

state is actively taking part in killing, the death penalty is seen as

hypocritical by juveniles. It is of course, hard to believe that juveniles not

murder when they regularly see it being done by the government with the apparent

approval of society. This was supported when Victor Strieb stated that

“Now they see government officials struggling with a problem of their

own,

a person whose behavior is unacceptable to them. How do government

officials solve their problem. They kill or execute the person who is

causing the problem. Is it wrong to kill someone to solve a problem.…

It is

akin to a lecture to children about the evils of smoking being

delivered by a

lecturer who is puffing on a cigarette.” (Strieb 61)

The next deals with the lack of maturity that most juveniles show. Every

juvenile is dealing with enormous amounts of stress everyday. It is these

pressures that affect the deterrent effect of the juvenile death penalty. Each

juvenile deals with this stress in a different way, however, because of this

stress, many adolescents act impulsively at times. Henry Heft explains that

“Peer pressure and family environment subject adolescents to enormous

psychological and emotional stress. Adolescents respond to stressful

situations by acting impulsively and without the mature judgments

expected

from adults. These characteristics are shared by all

adolescents…Thus, the

possibility of capitol punishment is meaningless to juveniles and has

no

deterrent effect.” (Heft 30)

Finally it can be seen that not only does the death penalty hold no

deterrent for juveniles but in some cases it act as an incentive for crime. This

can happen for two separate reasons. The first deals with the peer pressure

mentioned above. Because death is seen as “the ultimate stake” the committing of

a crime that would warrant the death penalty could put a juvenile in a position

to gain great respect from his peers. The second deals with the hypocrisy

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